That is the Question.

After over a year of absence, the obvious question becomes: "is it even worth trying to get back into the blogging habit?"

Of course, there are pros and cons. Pro: I just spent the last 15 minutes skipping through some of my old blog posts and thoroughly enjoyed that.  It'd be good to have that experience a year or three down the line and have memories of now.  Con: time is as tight as ever.  Pro: keeps me somewhat connected to old friends? Con: really not sure if they check here anymore...or if this would pop up in those Google Reader (I know I'm out of date) type feeds.

Ultimately, I am deciding to not just continue blogging, but to double down on my blog posts!  Granted, there was only one blog post in all of 2015, so "doubling-down" would only require two blog post this year...I'm halfway there!

Two major reasons I'm trying hard to get back into a routine: 1) This post of my niece, Leah, reading Mother Goose. Seriously, time really flies and I want to do a better job of capturing it and 2) Jamie and I just put down some big bucks towards our upcoming trip to New Zealand.  I'll definitely want to post about that trip on here.

I even enrolled in an advanced photography course so that I can take my pictures to a new level on this trip.  I'm going fully manual and I'll be able to share my success or failure with that endeavor on here.

And of course...remember this guy?

Well he....

...got...

...BIGGER!

And don't worry, Cody's just the same...(awesome).

Hope someone is still out there reading!

Living Teddy Bear.

Oh shoot.  I said every other day, didn't I?

You see, I had big plans to take a bunch of pictures of our house to share today, but got sort of swamped with work. Instead, I will share some Cody stories.  Because everyone* loves a good Cody story.

You may remember when we got Cody.  Since we adopted him as an adult cat from the animal shelter we don't really know how old he is.  I'm guessing he was probably around a year or so when we got him, so that would make him 8 or 9ish.  With age, he has become more and more of a teddy bear.

Yes, that is what I wake up to most mornings, yes his head is on my pillow, and yes his arm is around my neck in that picture.  Sadly, also with age he is taking it slower up the stairs and is no longer able to jump as high.  That may have to do more with the fact that he is a BIG cat than it does with age, but he still can be quite spry when he is chasing after Junior or the laser pointer.

One of the most initially-endearing/currently-annoying manifestations of his age is that he will paw at my butt when I'm working so that I will lift him up to the desk.  That's right.  My cat can no longer jump onto my lap or the desk without assistance.  I have a video of this phenomenon so you can truly see how annoying it is, but to be honest, it's not the best lighting.  Since he does it every day I will see if I can get a better shot of it tomorrow.

Another manifestation of his age (or sheer laziness) has thankfully ceased.  But, while we were in our first digs in Minneapolis and there were ample sunbeams to lay in, Cody picked up this lovely habit.

Glad to report he no longer does that and can be bothered to stand while he eats now.

Finally, as I am now working from home and spend a good chunk of my day at the computer, Cody has found a way to ensure that he is getting the attention he craves.  That is, of course, after he pokes my butt incessantly until I lift him onto the desk.

I love my crazy cat and Jamie can confirm that I tell Cody as much on a daily basis.  I love him even more for knowing that I don't like him sitting on my keyboard and that he has the good sense to sit behind the monitor.  

He's a pretty great cat.  And in case you're worried about him, he has a teddy bear of his own...

*"Everyone" is being used very loosely.

The Move (Part 2).

I had every intention of following up with another post much sooner than I did!  Hopefully, I will still be able to have some kind of coherent narrative despite writing about something that happened a couple weeks back.  Still, I definitely want to capture it here -- just to remember this milestone some years down the road.

Jamie and I left DC in our big yellow truck filled with all of our worldly possessions.  Or should I say: we attempted to leave DC.  The city seemed to be conspiring against us and blocked our path out with road closings or vertical clearances.  In the end, the extra 45 minutes of driving through the city was actually a nice way to say goodbye to the city that had been our home for nearly a decade.  We said goodbye to the monuments and memorials, marveled at the sheer number of Harleys in town for the rally, and slowly lumbered our way away from the city.

Originally, Jamie and I had planned on splitting up driving responsibilities -- that is, until I saw the sheer size of the truck.  22 feet long + a trailer for our Prius.  It was terrifying to even sit in it while it was in motion, much less be responsible for the well-being of the people inside it and the other cars.  Jamie drove that whole thing to Minneapolis.

That truck went through a LOT of gas.  The first fill-up was something like $120.  Not long enough after, we stopped for our second tank.  We were pretty pleased that it was an even $100 to fill it up.  What are the chances!  we thought smugly to ourselves.  Then, on another gas stop, we hit exactly $100 again.  Pleased as punch that we hit it again -- it softened the blow that we were going to spend over $700 in gas by the time we were through.

It wasn't until we hit $100 the third time that we realized that it wasn't a coincidence: the gas station capped the charge at $100.  That makes sense. It also meant that we were stopping for gas much more frequently than we needed to.  D'oh.

Still, we made it to our destination after 18+ hours of driving, plenty of gas stops, some caffeinated drinks, a Home Depot stop for a new lock, and the the fastest motel stay ever.

Here is the moment our big, yellow truck first crossed the Minnesotan border.  We had some hired college guys meet us on the other end and they unloaded our truck at super-speeds.  By the next day, this is how our new (temporary) home looked:

It felt like home pretty quickly over here.  (The cats agreed).

                        

                                                                              

A Different Kind of Love Story.

Yesterday, Cody fell in love with a bird.  This bird, to be exact:

Bright and early morning, Cody and I were woken up by a loud thud.  And then another.  It was this robin flying repeatedly into the bedroom window.  Cody was immediately intrigued.  So he watched the bird all morning...

...and all afternoon.  I left the house for a meeting and sure enough when I came home hours later, he was still watching that bird.

The bird was being a big flirt and would periodically fly into the window.  At times, hard enough that the person I was on a conference call with could hear the sound...over the phone...coming from my bedroom...across the house.  It was intense.

In the end, I'm sure the bird was just trying to impress his own reflection in the window and Cody was simply a sad Echo to the robin's Narcissus.  When I woke up this morning to the loud thud of the robin returning I immediately threw open the window and yelled it away -- there is only so much repeated thudding one person could take, and I didn't want Cody to waste away watching that damned bird for another day.

When I left for work this morning the bird was gone, but the evidence of his love affair with our cat remained right below my bedroom window.  

Fun with Pets.

Yeah yeah yeah, I haven't posted in a long time, whatevercakes.  SO busy I'm going out of my mind, but tonight I will post a super-short one.

So, I recently downloaded an app to my iPad that I heard about on NPR.  It's an app for cats.  Yes.  CATS.  Little fish swim around the screen and your cat bats at them and gets points each time it "gets" one.  I downloaded it think there was no way it would actually entice my cats into playing.  But, it was the most incredibly entertaining 4 minutes of my morning.  They went bananas!  Cody was clearly the better fishercat and beat out Junior who didn't grasp the concept and just kept jumping around the iPad and gnawing on the edges.

Unfortunately, when I got up to get my phone, they immediately thought I was going to feed them and they lost all interest.  I have yet to recreate those magical 4 minutes.

Since I have no video of them to show you, I give you this one...which is not all that unlike Cat Fishing.  Watch until the end for awesomeness.

Day 15; Post 14: A Chill in the Air.

Now that we're nearing December, it's getting consistently colder.  Sure, there's still those days of 60 or 70 degree weather mixed in there...but for the most part: cold.  And sometimes rainy.

One consequence of this is that poor Junior has a cold.  Hopefully not H1N1, but she is sneezing up a mini-storm.  Too bad it sounds adorable.

Another consequence of this is that the cats become even more cuddly with each other.

That's them keeping each other warm on our mountain of laundry.  'Tis the season for cat-spooning.  

For the record, Jamie and I do not leave piles of clothes around.  We were just in the folding process.  I swear, mom.

Day 1; Post 1: Ambitious Endeavor.

Been a while since I posted -- I am a little ashamed. This prompts me to undertake a pretty ambitious blog endeavor: 30 posts in 30 days. I can't make any promises for the awesomeness of said posts. Nor can I really guarantee that they will not be more than a video that I found online. But, I will try to be somewhat entertaining...for 30 posts anyway.

To help me in my first effort, I am enjoying a classic on Netflix Watch Instantly - my friend in multitasking. Tonight I made an excellent choice: The Adventures of Milo and Otis. I have a history with this movie...a sometimes tragic history with this movie. Tragic only because I only saw it once despite many repeated attempts. My heart-wrenching last attempt involved a broken VHS tape.

But tonight, through the magic of the internet, I am able to see the movie again...and let me tell you, it -- like Muppets Take Manhattan -- is even better now that I'm older. Aside from the animal cruelty that must have been involved (let's stick a kitten in a box floating down a waterfall - wee! Oh! What if we have that grown bear tackle a pug? Comedic gold! Maybe have a crab pinch that cat's face or have the cat play with a hedgehog. Let's throw this puppy into the middle of the ocean! Oh his whimpers will be so adorable!), this movie is most amazing. Maybe it will only stay amazing as long as I am ignorant of whether or not any animals were actually hurt in the filming.

It's like a movie version of Cute Overload.

This movie may be the reason for my apparent obsession for orange tabbies.

It may also be the reason why I can still play About Strange Lands and People by heart to this day. (No, I don't get why there are pictures of babies in the video.)

WHOA. I just noticed that the person who posted that video of Milo and Otis on You Tube had the username of "HappyMeliProject". Creeeeeeeepy!

And because everyone can benefit from more Milo and Otis...

One post down...29 to go.

Welcome Back Cody.

So!  Cody came home!  Even better, Cody came home after narrowly escaping surgery!

After spending just shy of a week in the hospital, Cody's doctor recommended that he get a "P.U." (perineal urethrostomy) which basically means they remove what's left of his manhood because his urethra kept on getting blocked by crystals or build up in his urine.  Fortunately for him, his last night in the hospital he was able to pee on his own!

For the next 18 hours the hospital staff was on bladder-watch and I called regularly for updates.  Jamie dropped him off at the clinic where we had scheduled his surgery, but gave them the instructions to continue monitoring him and hold off on the surgery until the last moment when we would make a last minute call.  Ultimately, we opted not to go through with it...and brought him home last night.

He's been doing well!  See?

Aside for the stylish bald spots on his leg where they put in the IVs, he looks like his old self.  He's is the same, big, teddy bear but just needs to make more frequent trips to the litter box.

Unfortunately, Junior is behaving predictably.

Part of me loves Cody's response.  Complete and total apathy with maybe a little confusion.  I am hopeful that they'll return to their regular loving relationship soon.

Junior and Cody a mere two weeks ago.

All Cody. All the Time.

I'm sorry for the single-trackedness of this blog as of late -- but really, I've just been really concerned about this guy lately.

This is the picture I took on my flimsy little camera phone this afternoon when I was visiting the big guy at the hospital.  He looked much better than the last time I visited him when he was on Valium.  In fact, despite what the picture may convey, he was actually more lively than I had anticipated.  He kept trying to walk around -- but slipping because of the makeshift cast he has on one of his paws for the IV -- and making crazy Marge Simpson noises instead of meowing.  Later, the nurse informed me that he was "doped up".

After plenty of quality time with him and several Cody headbutts, the nurse kicked me out as it was time more medications.  He's got another night in the hospital -- they took out his catheter for the second time this evening -- and will be monitoring him all night.  Best case scenario, he'll be ready to pick up tomorrow morning.  If not, he'll be having surgery and spending a lot more time in the hospital.

Cross your fingers.  And hopefully, I'll have something different to talk about soon.

Jinxed It.

So I guess I spoke too soon. The vet called this morning and told us that Cody is still having some medical issues and needed to have the catheter reinserted. On top of that, he caught some virus from a neighboring cat and now has a fever. So, while I would love to scoop him up and take him away from the other sick animals, I figure I probably wouldn't have much luck taking care of him with that catheter and IV.

I'm just hoping we might be able to get him from the hospital tomorrow evening...

Good News.

We went to visit Cody at the hospital and the vet said that the test results from his blood work that morning wasn't in yet.  The veterenarian had given him some Valium because he hadn't been eating -- apparently, it makes cats hungry -- and he wolfed down lots of food afterwards.  So, when we were visiting him Cody was super groggy from having lots of food in his belly and the Valium.  Fortunately, he was still his sweet self and began purring and kneading his paws frantically when we came.  Although he couldn't really move because of the catheter, IV, and the Elizabethan Collar, he was still same old Cody.

On our way home from dinner afterwards, the vet called with the result from the blood work.  Apparently, everything was back to normal in his system, which points to no permanent kidney damage.  She said she was surprised because his levels were so high yesterday...and so she was planning to continue monitoring him tonight.  The especially good news is that we will get to pick him up from the hospital tomorrow morning (she originally told us Tuesday) if there are no unhappy surprises overnight.  

So relieved.

Guilt-ridden.

Sorry for the blog silence. After the Obama excitement I didn't really have much else on my mind. And then, I got sick so I was feeling sorry for myself in bed. It was quite possibly the worst possible time for me to get sick as we are having a big Review of our school at the time. Quite stressful, and busy, but we managed to do well.

This led to me completely crashing on Friday with a fever of 102. So I skipped work and slept pretty much all day.

Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one sick on Friday. My precious Cody was moping around and vomiting EVERY where. His vomiting on my bed was my cue to get out of it...so after that I spent the rest of the day mopping up after him.

Not only is Cody the most precious cat ever -- trust me, Jamie can attest to the fact that I am fawning over that cat constantly -- but he is never sick. Except for that one time. And that other time. So maybe, he gets sick, but he never acts sick and it's never serious. This time it was serious. I grappled with taking him to the vet, but a combination of me being sick, and the fact that we had taken our cats to the vets for various reasons three times in the past two months (and they were relatively useless visits because turns out they were fine and we were overprotective) made me decide to wait one day and see if he was feeling better the next day. He wasn't vomiting blood as Junior had been earlier this month -- and that turned out to be nothing according to our vet. But, after closing time I began to regret my decision as he didn't seem to be getting much better.  He was throwing up less - maybe once -- but he was still moping.

Jamie took him to the vet this morning while I was at work and it turns out that I could have killed my cat had I waited a couple more days. I feel like such a horrible pet owner! He had some blockage in his urethra, so much so that his kidneys were being affected. He had been throwing up the toxins that were backing up in his body since he couldn't eliminate them any other way.

They unblocked him and put in a catheter and an IV. He has to stay at a hospital for a few days before he can come home again. Hopefully, by then he will be fine again and this incident is not a symptom of a bigger problem.

Because, as I mentioned before, he is the most perfect cat ever. Also, we canceled our pet insurance a little while back because Cody had always been so healthy and now we are seriously wishing we hadn't.

Cody Muffin Top.

[Singing]: Big cat in a little bowl.  Big cat in a little bowl.

This is actually one of Cody's favorite sleeping spots.  It should be noted that we have a similar, but larger bowl on the other side of the couch.  I think he opted for the one under the warm lamp that night.

Holiday Redux.

I have been meaning to post about the various holidays we've been having, but have been pretty overwhelmed with other things. Before I get back to work today though, I thought I would take the time to post some pictures that I've been holding onto. Here's one of our pumpkin from Halloween...


...looking at the picture now, I see that it is definitely reminiscent of Strong Bad from the future.

Thanksgiving was a blast! We had Scott over and a couple of Jamie's other friends from Law School. All in all, our biggest Thanksgiving group yet! My new endeavor for the year was brining my turkey.


Having heard only good things about the results, I thought it would be worth the trouble. I'm telling you now, it is worth it. I will be brining my turkey for years to come and just messing around with the flavoring because that was one seriously moist turkey. Despite a roasting setback -- I thought the oven was on for two hours when, in fact, it was not -- the turkey was still juicy.

Jamie made some yummy curried butternut squash with a cilantro yogurt sauce, and of course we had the sweet potatoes, some green beans and shallots, buttermilk biscuits, and stuffing. Dessert was pumpkin pie with a homemade crust and an apple toffee cake. Pretty delish. And, having no Thanksgiving decor pieces, we threw together a centerpiece using various fall foods. I thought it came out festive-looking...


Since Thanksgiving we have discovered the XM radio has five temporary channels dedicated to Christmas music and it has been putting me in the mood for some serious Christmas mirth. Consequently, Jamie and I went to get our first Christmas tree! Artificial, of course (don't worry, dad!). So while it lacks the yummy smell, I think it will be a little safer from our cats.

Although, it looks as though Junior is a little scared of the tree for now (but notice it's reflection in her eyes...) and is more interested in its box.

Cat Nap.

Ever since we got back from our trip, Cody and Junior have been staying pretty close to us. Every once in a while, Cody will lay down for a nap. If no one is around when he wakes up, he'll do his pitiful "howling meow" until we call him.

One of the results of having our cats following us around is that they nap in weird places. One of Cody's favorite spots as of late is right next to my computer. It does not look like the most comfortable spot though...


Poor guy is squished up against the window and through the hole puncher. All so that he can hear the comforting type of my keyboard. Actually, I just think he likes the coolness window and metal on his big fur coat.

Also, it's probably an improvement over the alternative...

Notice how Junior pauses for approximately 6 seconds after Cody yelps before going back in for more. What an adorable jerkface.

Because Anne Louise Said So...

So there was this video on Cute Overload (a website I highly recommend when in need of some cute) months ago that has since been taken off of said website. It bummed me out when it was taken off because it was the only video I knew of that had a profound effect on Cody. Cody has never been a cat to really react to the television or computer, but this video would freak him out.



Baby Kitten, Mom To The Rescue! - video powered by Metacafe

Hearing the sad little kitten would put him into parent-mode and he would search frantically for the offended kitten. He'd look behind the monitor and knock over the speakers...it was awesome. While I did feel bad for stressing him out, I had to do it a couple more times...because it was awesome. Then, for his sake, I forgot about the video.

Until yesterday. I found the video again and wondered to myself if he would still react. After all, now we had an annoying brat kitten that pestered him all day. I thought for sure he would ignore the crying kitten. I had to test it...and then I had to do it one more time because Anne Louise told me to video tape him for the blog.

I'm so mean. Note how he checks on Junior. He did that both (alright, all four times) that I played the video. And now, I will never play those videos again -- unless on mute -- so as not to traumatize my cats.

So Soon.

Yikes. I'm lame. Here's the quick update:

1) The wedding is SO SOON. Things are falling (have fallen) into place and I'm just so excited for the chance to finally be married to this guy.

2) After a check-up with the vet it turns out that our little Junior is actually one of those rare female orange tabbies. Good thing we didn't try to get her neutered right away -- that would have been embarrassing.

3) The wedding is soon.

4) I have vowed to post more often. Maybe even daily? I figured that even if everybody has given up on this blog, I'll be able to look back at it someday and remember this period of my life right before Jamie and I got hitched. So with you as my witness, I promise to post more often...at least until I'm completely overwhelmed, grouchy, stressed, etc. with wedding plans. If that happens. (It probably will).

A Quiet Sunday.

First some important news: hours of enjoyment for all those involved is as simple as a ping-pong ball, a bathtub, and an orange tabby.

Second, I'm a little stressed out as the big shopping season begins and I'm watching as things on our registries are sold out before I even got a chance to share the registry information with my guests. The plates I fell in love with are on backorder now! So sad! I want to bust the collective knee caps of all those pushy shoppers taking the last item off the shelves.

Give our registry a chance...

Naturally.

Today we were starting a story about seeing eye dogs. Here's a snippet of dialogue in the classroom:

Ms. U: ...guide dogs like seeing eye dogs and dogs for the hearing-impaired are specially-trained to do important things like cross the street or open drawers...

Dre'Kwon: [waving hand excitedly] ...like you can train a seeing-eye dog to put things in the microwave...like a MONKEY!

Most excellent.

In other news, Cody booted on the floor today. It was the first time he had ever done so and Jamie was worried enough about it to call me on my cell phone. I don't think he called me out of concern for my cat, but rather because he was confused about cat behavior. Kind of like the time he thought something was seriously wrong with the cat because he made a weird rattling noise. (Cody was purring).



Cody's all good now if you were worried.

Home Alone.

If you have been following this blog for a while, then you are familiar with Cody:


Cody is our [insert colorful adjective here] cat. We don't leave Cody home alone often -- we don't have the funds for that -- but we do manage to get away for a couple of weeks every year. Last year when we took time to go to Peru and Alaska, we left him in the care of benevolent friends. Over the holidays, we forked over serious dollars to a cat sitter.

This time? He's in the care of Jamie's brother. In a completely good-natured way, I'm a little nervous. Mind you, the last time that Scott was left home alone in our apartment he managed to slice open his hand (which required several stitches to close again). Also, upon returning from our trip, we found that the stove and floor was completely covered in a mysterious, waxy, yellow goo. This I am sure is not Scott's fault (I think our exhaust filter needed to be changed), but the point is: bad things happen when Scott is left alone in our apartment.

I'm just kidding. I am extremely grateful for Scott taking care of our precious Cody. I am also very appreciative of him getting up (or staying up) with us so that he could drive us to the airport at 2:30am (!). That, my friends, is true kindness.

And for all the ladies...he's single.