Did I Ever Post This?

I was feeling nostalgic and going through pictures of kitties we have lost when I stumbled upon this picture.

Sister Kitties

It is a picture of Princess (rear) and Ashes (front) when Princess was still with us. Sadly, it was at night so the lighting wasn't that great and kitties don't respond well to a flash (evil eyes!) so this isn't the best picture, but I just think it is so cute. Even though they were sisters they didn't have anything to do with each other (ah, just like human families! j/k) so this was a rare shot of the two of them, if not with each other, then at least near each other.

Here's another shot that came from that little picture taking session:

I still just adore the look on Ashes' face in this one. So sweet! And Princess in the background, looking like she is above it all, as any good Himalayan should.

Both pictures make me smile. Princess, while initially evil, ended up being such a sweet kitty (at least to me and Dan, though she'd still try to eat the vet techs that ended up in the same room with her) and she was a great addition to our family, even if it was for a short period of time. But these pictures I think really show the difference between the two sisters' personalities. Ashes - sweet, loving and inquisitive; Princess - aloof, skeptical and stereotypical cat. But both so fluffy and wonderful!

Excuse me, I must go cuddle kitties now.

Picture Time!

Whee! Pictures pictures and more pictures. Okay, just four pictures. But no chicken purses. You can take that as a positive or negative feature of this post..

Uh, Merry Christmas?
Yeah, I know I used that for a post title a few days ago but whatever. Is the writer's strike still on? If so, that's my problem.

Anyway, my Christmas cactus is blooming. This thing has not bloomed in years but I guess the best way to get it to bloom is not to forget to water it. In the past month I've finally gotten on a plant watering schedule and look at my reward!

Is there such a thing as a Valentine Cactus?

Okay, yeah, so it is just one bloom. But there is a bud on the other side. And it isn't dying (I don't think). So total awesomeness all around.

Awwww, Cuteness!
There is no reason to post this since I actually took it (well, okay, Dan took it - I was occupied) almost two weeks ago. But it was camped out in my camera until just now, so it is sort of timely.

Cocoa is a lovey, wonderful cuddle kitty. She love cuddles. It's kind of hard to hold her and a laptop, but hey, I'll do what I can to get such wonderful kitty cuddles.

Kitty Cuddles!

Must Be Genetic
Princess was always a big box kitty. If a box was on the floor, she was either in it, just gotten out of it, or thinking about getting in it. Ashes hasn't ever been a big box-lover, however since Princess has passed away, I believe she realizes that this house is missing a Box-Love Himalayan and she's trying to fill the gap.

Ashes trying to fill the role of "box-loving himmy"

The Original Box-Loving Himmy, Princess

Scrapbook Crazy

I completed three, yes three scrapbook pages today. Craziness! Two for the kitty scrapbook and one for our scrapbook. Go me! Of course, I had to do something while I was scrapbooking, so I watched three movies and listened to two periods of a Ducks game (they lost 4-0 to Edmonton - ouch). For the movies, Dan and I finished the Die Hard series (he had never seen it - I hadn't seen 4 yet. Good entertainment) and then I watched Van Helsing (not impressed with the ending).

Without further ado, scrapbook pages:

Princess Page
No real explanation needed as colors are good and everything is easy to see. Oh, text is done with Opposites Attact, flowers were done the George and Basic Shapes cartridge.

Pissy Pissy Princess

Text:

I used to think Princess was one of those "special" cats made entirely out of evil.

When she lived with my grandma, she would hide from everyone. If we sought her out, she would bite, growl and hiss. When she was being held, she growled constantly.

When she first came to us after my grandma passed away, Princess would scream, hiss, spit and bite at our ankles. She eventually turned into a sweetie, but she will always be known as the Pissy Pissy Princess.

Ashes Page
Okay, this one is hard to see - the colors are pale, but the title says "Big Girl Cuddles" in light blue, edged in brown and there are little blue flowers with cream centers to each side of the title (similar to the one in the bottom right corner). The title was done with ZooBalloo, the flowers are from the Walk in My Garden cartridge.

Big Girl Cuddles

Text:

Ashes is a friendly and lovey girl. She will wave to get attention, becomes a loud purr-box when she’s getting her chin scrubbed and can usually be found in the same room as her people.

But as lovey and sweet as she is, Ashes has never been a big cuddler. So the few times she decides to get on a lap are really special. Sometimes she will just stand and purr then leave. But there are times when she gets the urge not to stand on a lap, but to settle in and take a nice little nap.

And if that doesn’t make a heart melt, nothing will.

Yard Page
The colors are off just a tad here (the green isn't quite as acid) but close enough. Text is with Opposites Attract, critters with Walk in My Garden.

Spring 2007

No text, but aren't the little buggies cute? I so love my Cricut!

Updates

Well, Dan was harrasing me yesterday about my webpage being so out of date (the non-blog part anyway), so I did a tiny bit of updating. Just a few tweaks on the Children page and I guess I have completed Princess's page. Still need to do more updates, but I will eventually. One day.

This might be morbid, but...

We had Princess cremated and got her a pretty urn.

Princess's Urn

It's sitting on the mantel. Pretty, isn't it.

I admit it, I cried when I picked her up from the vet. She had been sick for a while and died on Friday morning at about 8:15a. Dan and I were taking her to the vet, actually, but she didn't make the trip. She died while I was holding her. I'm really glad it happened like it did. Although Dan and I had decided to have her put to sleep that morning, I'm really glad it happened naturally.

I miss her and her pissy little attitude. Believe it or not, she was a really sweet cat.

Princess

Princess
1991 - 2007

Update-y Goodness

(Pictures to be added later - though with my current update frequency, that means October).

So a couple of weeks ago, Dan and I went to Georgia for the third biennel Crook Family reunion. We stayed at Vogel State Park, as did the family that came to the reunion. I think both Dan and I fell in love with the Georgia moutains. So pretty. I'll post some pictures later (when I'm not at work on my lunch break) that show of the area.

Right now I'm working on scrapbooking pages for the trip. I've decided to do a "general life" scrapbook in addition to the kitty scrapbook I've been working on. So far it is turning out very nicely. Once I fully finish a page, I'll post some pictures.

Health-wise I am doing better. Still not at 100% but I finally feel better now than I did before the whole ambulance, ER, and surgery stuff happened. Still can't eat normally, either. That's starting to get really old. I even have some hiatal hernia pictures (not of mine - diagrams, really) that I keep meaning to post but haven't. I think I might put them up, though it is a little late at this point, yeah?

One final update. Princess is dying. She's been doing poorly for a while now. She's lost a lot of weight and isn't eating. We've done the vet visits, IV fluids and whatnot but nothing has helped. She's basically just done. She's currently not in any pain, though and still interacting with me and Dan, so we aren't going to put her down. Yes, she is dying. Yes, she is not healthy. And yes, she is weak. But shoot, I spent 2 years unhealthy and weak (and everyone is technically dying really) and no one put me down. So as long as she is still getting something good out of life, we are going to keep her around. Anyway, the whole thing is really upsetting. She's become such a wonderful and sweet (though only to Dan and me) kitty, my heart is just breaking as I watch her waste away.

Anyway, that's what's going on in life. Pictures will be posted at some point so I can get back to the visually interesting blog format. Well, at least it is a format that is interesting to me. Not sure about all you other people, but really, this is my blog. So there.

Yes, I'm still alive

Despite rumors to the contrary, I am actually still alive.

This week is my second week back to work and I just don't have much energy. Last week was REALLY rough, this week so far has only been fairly rough. Though there are two more days.

Brief updates:
Healing from surgery. Too lazy to post pictures that I would normally post about hiatal hernias and the surgery they did. Sorry. Stomach still scarred. I still have pain. Still have problems eating. Lost almost 15 pounds. Back to my wedding weight of 122 but so not the way I would prefer to do it.

Ashes and Princess turned 16 today. Sweet sixteen! Princess is not doing well at all. She's lost a lot of weight. We've taken her to the vet, but there's really nothing they can do. She's basically starving herself and if she doesn't stop it, organs will start failing. I hope she gets better, but I don't think she will. She's turned into quite the sweetheart this past year.

Dan and I have been married 5 years as of last week. Wild that it's been that long. And I'm still alive. Though based on the attitude I've been running around with after being so exhausted from work (okay, running is so not the right word because sometimes it still hurts to walk, but anyway), it is possible that Dan will still decide to off me and put me out of his misery.

Aside from Princess, the other kitties are doing good. Cocoa is fat. Like, huge. The cat with no teeth is the heaviest one. What is wrong with that picture?

Yeah, that's all the updates I have right now. I'm sure there is more but my brain is the consistency of oatmeal and has about as much coherent thought. More when I can.

Kill Me Now

Wow, almost 2 weeks since I have updated. Shame on me. Quite a change from updating a couple of times a week.

In my defense, I have felt like utter monkey pooh. But I figured it was time to post so people could be reassured that I have not, in fact, dropped off the face of the earth. So, without further ado, updates:

Hockey
Okay, it might say something about my priorities that are a bit off since I just got back from the cardiologist and yet the first topic on my blog update is hockey. But this is the playoffs, baby. All other things take a back seat.

So, the Ducks didn't sweep the Wild in the First Round like I thought they would - they let the Wild win 1 game. But I can totally deal with the series going to Game 5. It gave the Ducks a nice rest before Round 2, which started last night. They are playing Vancouver and, if last night's game was any indication, this will be a very one-sided series. Ducks won 5 to 1. Ouch. Poor Canucks, huh? But I don't feel bad enough for them to want any of the next games to be any different. I am interested to see what happens in the Red Wings/Sharks series since the Ducks will play the winners. Not sure if I am interested enough to watch it, though. That could cut into some serious nap time.

And speaking of nap time...

Cardiologist Stuff
Yeah, as expected, the results from my last heart monitor thing were normal. Woo freakin' hoo. So we still don't know what exactly is going on. But I maintain if it keeps getting worse, I will no longer be able to drive, much less hold down a job. Dan's even driven me to work a couple of times. It's nice because then I can nap on the way home.

Anyway, the cardiologist said that when people come in with the symptoms I am describing, they usually have coronary heart disease. But due to my age and lack of strong family history of early heart disease, he thinks not so much. But he wants me to take a stress test just to make sure.

That's right. A stress test. Yet again, woo freakin' hoo. So Monday, May 7th, I will be injected with radioactive material and made to run on a treadmill. I. Am. So. Not. Excited.

The cardiologist did say that he is more inclined to think it is asthma. So I guess if the freakin' stress test doesn't show anything, I'll have to go back that route. The pulmonary function test I took back when came out fine which would indicate it isn't asthma, but apparently it doesn't always show up on those. Back when, I was using Advair and that seemed to be helping, though after the PFT showed up okay, the doctor said it most likely helped just because it was clearing up some inflammation issues left over from my last bout of bronchitis.

Anyway, the cardiologist suggested that I get back on the Advair to see if it helps, so I picked some up today and took my first treatment this morning. It is hard to tell if it is helping. Pressure-wise I'm probably hanging out at a 7 now, with forays into 6-dom, but I had a lovely spike into the town of 9 that made me start yet again contemplating exactly when I needed to have someone take me to the emergency room (the only thing Dan and I can totally agree on is if I do manage to pass out, I'm going). And yes, I've been rating my "discomfort" the past 2 weeks. I'm trying to find a pattern - if the pressure relates to how much sleep I get, if I have sugar, caffeine, if I exercise. So far - no pattern.

Okay, where was I? I got sidetracked.... Oh yeah. Asthma. Basically, the cardiologist said we could play around with which medication I am on (breathing-related or heart-related) but it was "a crap shoot" so he decided to leave me on the heart stuff and add the Advair to see if it helped. Yeah.

Anyway, I guess we will know more after the freakin' stress test. Oh, and did I mention the true joy that will be for the freakin' stress test? I have to stop taking my heart medication for it. I take the test Monday and I can't take the meds Monday or Sunday. Yeah, no meds AND a treadmill. I'm so going to pass out.

Okay, enough of that junk. Fun stuff...

KITTIES!
The babies are doing wonderfully. Princess keeps trying to eat Chloe and has been thinking about making a Bitty-snack, but otherwise is good. Cocoa is doing great with no teeth. Ashes is sweet, as always and Nibby has been super-balancy. Gidget is one giant fluffer kitty and I'm thinking about shaving her for the summer (shh! don't tell her that!) and Happy is her insane but lovable self. Yay for healthy and happy kitties!

Smile for the Day
And now for something that makes me happy: Cuteness! On that site, you can find adorable little pictures and videos that will make you definitely go "aww".

And with that, I'll leave you some supercute for the day:

It'll fit - I swear!

Happy Birthday!

I forgot to post this last night. Yesterday was Ashes's and Princess's birthday! I forgot until about 8pm last night when I was talking to my dad about their August 15 birthday and he reminded me that it was the 15th. Aww! Happy 15th birthday, kitties! So after I hung up with my dad, I sang to them.

I've got a cute picture of the two of them taken right before they left the home they were born in which I am going to post hopefully tonight.

So happy 15th birthday to the Big Girl and the Big Pissy!

Thankfully neither has asked to get their learner's permit.

The Face of Evil

Yes, ladies and gentlemen - this is this face of pure, unadulterated evil:

Okay, maybe Princess isn't Satan or anything, but she is one of the nastiest cats I've run across.

Though I must say, she's only peed out of anger today, instead of the poop-and-pee combo she's been doing. But then, the days not over yet either. I've lost count the numbers of towels and such she's spoiled. Don't worry, future house guests! I wash them very well! Just make sure you used the towels that coordinate with the bathroom. Those are never kitty towels.

And before you ask, I was using the zoom, not harassing her with the camera to make her hiss. You are seeing her natural charm.

Sigh.