The Domino Effect

If it's not one thing, it's another...

Friday, some guys came over to the house to replace our bathroom floor and do some stuff to our shower. They got there around ten am with a key they picked up from the realtor we rent from. They were there all day and didn't leave until sometime after five. As soon as they were gone, Mike and I got ready to head over to my parent's house for game night with some family members and pizza. We didn't end up getting home until almost two. Usually when I come home after being gone for so long, both of the animals, Zoe and Mable, greet me. After being home for about twenty minutes, Mable was nowhere to be found.

I went around to her usual hiding places (in the windows, under beds, under couches) and she wasn't there. Mike and I searched the entire house room by room, ruling each one out. She was nowhere to be found. We then went looking outside for about an hour and a half trying to find her. We called her name, brought her toys that make noise, and even left out food. Nothing.

We had a lot going on Saturday for the wedding and needed to get to sleep, so around 4:30, we finally turned in.

Apart of me hoped that when we woke up, she would be waiting on the front steps....but no. We were gone for several hours, and came home to no cat, again. However, the food we left out had been eaten, but didn't know by who. I continued to check outside, sometimes sitting out there for long periods calling her name. We finally left the front and back door open in case she wondered back.

By the time we went to bed Saturday night, she still wasn't home. I feared she might never make it back and my heart hurt- just coming off of the death of Hershey.

On Sunday, we went over to my parents again to celebrate Ryan's birthday. We were practically gone all day, so we weren't able to keep an eye out for her. We finally come home around 9ish. As we pulled up into the driveway, I noticed eyes staring at me. Underneath the windows in the front of our house are these grates that see into the crawl space under our house. Perched on a ledge and peering out the grate: Mable. Mike and I ran inside the house to get proper cat catching tools, flash lights, kennel, keys to the lock on the door to the crawl space, proper shoes and attire, and a can of tuna.

We got underneath the house (one of my biggest fears) and at first you can stand completely straight up....but as you get further down you have to lean over and eventually crawl. We looked all around but couldn't see her anywhere. We called her name and made clicking tongue sounds for about twenty minutes and nothing. We left the opened can of tuna in case she was hungry, and left. We checked outside of the house to see if there was any kind of exist she could take, but found nothing.

We went back inside for two hours and tried again. This time, Mike found her in a corner neither of us could get to. We again tried calling her name but she wouldn't come. She looked terrified. Long story short, after being down there for about an hour this time and Mike and I both having to over come some fears (me: being under the house and him: spiders) we finally got her. Mike managed to crawl to the perch where I originally saw her from the outside and where she had now slinked into. I went back into the house and grabbed some pillow cases. Even though we brought Zoe's kennel with us...Mike was on the other side of the space and I couldn't get it to him, and he couldn't carry her out on his hands and knees. So, I got two pillowcases, and Mike gently put her into one, and double bagged her with the other and carried her out like Santa's bag of toys.

We finally got out of the underworld and inside the house. I unwrapped her and cuddled her to pieces and even Zoe came over and gave her kisses. After running away from us, exploring the house, and drinking some water she wouldn't leave my side and purred the entire night away.

I had just come to the realization that I would never see her again...but we found her! The scary part is, if I hadn't of seen her in the grate there, who knows how long she would have been down there unnoticed. She could have died down there.

So, great...that's over with. I didn't lose two animals in two days.

But, I have the worst luck ever. Today, I went to the post office to get stamps for our wedding invites. On my way into the parking lot, I popped a curb. When I came outside, my car wouldn't start. I had to call Jef to come get me, and now I have to wait and see if it can be fixed.

Ugh.

The Celebration of Life

In 1995, my parents told me we were getting a puppy. I was in the fifth grade then and having never owned an animal that didn't live in a cage, I was ecstatic. To be honest, I don't know why my parents decided to do this. Neither of my parents had really shown much interest in larger animals before. My mom had always kept guinea pigs in her classroom. That seemed normal to me, mostly because they were so easy to care for. Whatever the reason, they made it and started looking into what kind of dog to get. A local vet in town was breeding standard poodles and just had a litter. My mom and I went down there to pick one out. She decided she wanted a chocolate colored one, and there were three to pick from. After playing around with each of the three, we choose ours because she was the only puppy to give us kisses.

We named her Hershey. One, because she was chocolate colored and two. because my mother has always had a bit of sweet tooth for the candy.

I remember the first night they brought her home. I thought it was neat that each puppy was sent home with their own blanket and stuffed animal. Hershey came with a Miss Piggy doll, which was also my affectionate stuffed animal as a child. We were meant to be. That night, we kept her in a kennel, as she was not house broken. I was upset, because I wanted her to sleep in my bed. She whined all night. When none of us could get any sleep, my dad put her kennel in the bathroom. The bathroom was in the center of the house and only caused the noise to get worse with echo. Eventually, my parents moved her into the garage, but none of us got a good nights sleep.

Having a puppy for the first time was hard- especially the house training bit. She went all the time! She also had a really bad habit of nipping at my ankles when I walked throughout the house and I really hated that.

But, I did love watching her grow. I remember I used to play this game where I would run from my parents bed into the livingroom and jump up on an easy chair. She wasn't big enough to jump up there with me so she would just chase me from room to room. One night, as we were playing this game, she hopped up into the chair with me. I was excited she was finally getting bigger.

Standard poodles are very smart, and we were able to teach her LOTS of fun tricks. Not only the usualy sit and shake...but she also played dead when we "shot" her with a BANG! She learned commands fast.

Hershey became an extension of our family, not just a pet.

I viewed her almost like a sister....if that makes any sense at all. In high school, she always slept in my bed with me. She would sleep on the pillow next to me with her face turned away and she let me rest my head on her hip. She was a great confidant, and always let my cry into her fur in sadness and was always ready to play during happy times.

It was hard going off to college for the first time. Living in dorms, I was never around animals. On my first visit back home as soon as I stepped into the door she bombarded me with kisses...the signature trade mark of hers- the reason we choose her in the first place.


Because we got her so early, it's hard to remember what our lives were like before her. She's been there through every holiday, celebration, and hardship.

My parents always got her groomed regularly. They liked the look of a groomed poodle, but I always preferred Hershey looking a little rough around the edges.


Sometime around 2005, Hershey's health and age caught up with her. She started to get sad that the family was no longer living there anymore and became very lazy and uninterested in playing or her other usual activities. She also developed very bad arthritis and had a hard time getting on the bed. In 2005, I moved back home for a bit and brought with me my cat Audrey.

Having a young cat in the house did a lot of good for Hershey. It made her young again. Chasing the cat around improved her spirits and her arthritis got better.


We have this weird tradition in our family called Family Hug. At the end of celebrations or family gatherings usually my dad announces FAMILY HUG and well, we all hug. Hersh was always in on the act. She would jump into the center of us and make sure to give almost every one there a kiss. (Don't mind my dad's belly there....but you can see Hershey in the middle, kinda)



Last year, Jeannette gave me Zoe when she moved. I was nervous how Hershey was going to react. Hershey was never around other dogs much and never learned how to communicate with them. Gladly, they became the best of friends- Hershey's first dog friend.



On March 12th of this year Hershey turned 14 years old. I brought her over a hamburger. She ate it, threw it all up, and ate it again. I think she liked it both times. :)

A couple weeks ago, my mom sent everyone in the family a message on facebook telling us that Hershey wasn't doing so good. She was a very old lady, and the doctors thought she had cancer. They didn't know how much time she had left, and my parents decided to let her have as much as she could have to be comfortable. Jason brought her a roastbeef sandwich and my parents cooked her rice every night.

Every Wednesday, my family gets together to watch Lost. Tonight, when I arrived my mother was acting weird, but I brushed it off, knowing she was just upset that Hershey was sick. After dinner and after the show, my parents broke the news.

Tomorrow, Hershey is being put to sleep.

Although my heart is breaking. Although I know I will never get to see her again, rub her belly, or give her kisses one more time- I know she lived the best life a dog could ever live. She wanted for nothing. She had all the toys, treats, and love any dog has ever had. She had a warm bed to sleep in every night. She was never abused, was taken for walks, and LOVED to go bye-bye.




But losing her, is losing a member of my family and no matter what- it's hard.

I'm going to miss you Hershey Lou. Thank you for 14 wonderful years.

The Cowardly Lion

I have done several things this week and the past couple of weeks that should have scared the nonsense out of me. I have pushed the boundaries of my comfort zone. I have overcome obstacles I never thought I could.

Maybe this big, big world isn't as scary as I once thought it was.

I sent Ryan an email asking if he wanted to go to this with me: http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_12484615.html

Although he didn't say no, he didn't exactly say yes, either. I really want to go. I have never seen a professional sport live before, and I really like soccer. If anyone wants to go with me, holler at your girl.

...

I decorated my house for Spring...bye bye Winter, I refuse to acknowledge you exist anymore.

I watched Seabiscuit for the first time tonight...took me awhile to get around to that one....I pretty much liked it...I have a soft spot for animal movies, sports movies, and Toby Maguire movies....I mean...there was just not anyway I wasn't going to like it.

I want to sound my barbaric YALP!

The Springing

Seriously. I am 25 years old. When am I going to stop having pimples? Seriously. When does this end?

Things with school have been stressful as have wedding things...but I can honestly saying this one of the best times in my life. I am so content. I have a great relationship, family, and friends. I am productive and feel great about myself.

Today, on my way to school- I rolled down the windows, cranked up the music, and rocked out. I miss feeling infinite. I wish Kashmir was here.

But, this time of year is just wonderful- I am elated.

I hope winter is finally behind us. I am ready for Spring. I am re-birthing my life. I am ready for things to bloom.

The Blood Bath

It's been too long. I never should have let this happen. Ok, so I have some highlights since the last blog.

I am a true klutz. I will find a way to hurt myself if there is any obstacle in my path. Although this isn't the most recent news, it relates to what happened about 40 minutes ago. I sprained my ankle about three weeks ago. I was cleaning up my living room on a Wednesday night and picked up a 24 case of water to carry to the kitchen table. I got like two steps and slipped. At the time I didn't know how. I didn't find out how for three more days. I just remember I wasn't on my stable two feet anymore. I felt myself slipping away, not knowing why. My left ankle rolled and I remember putting all of my weight on it to catch myself. I think dropped the waters and they went flying everywhere....including some that fell on my right foot leaving a pretty nasty bruise. I layed there for a few minutes flat on my face wondering what to do. I didn't know if I was hurt or how bad and I didn't want to assess the situation because I was assumed the worst. Finally I was brave enough to stand up. It went well. I limped around the house testing it out and everything seemed ok because I could walk a bit. I got some ice and sat back down. And then I started crying. All of the nervousness and hurt finally caught back up with me. I called Mike and he helped my calm down and I started doing some research online about sprained ankles and what to do. After an hour of talking to him and doing my research I got back up again to use the bathroom. I couldn't move. I couldn't put any weight on it at all. Not knowing what to do , I crawled into the office to get my computer chair and wheeled myself around the house for the rest of the night. I took some pain medication and went to sleep assuming everything would be fine in the morning.

It wasn't. I still couldn't walk. I didn't go to school and continued to roll around the house until 4pm, when Jef got off work. He picked up some crutches from my grandma's house for me and bought me an ankle brace. The crutches were awful. It hurt to move and the crutches were uncomfortable. I stayed on them all weekend and missed school again Friday. Finally, on Sunday night I tried putting pressure on my foot, and I could walk but with the crutches. I went back to school that Monday and stayed on the crutches until this past Monday.

I found out later that I slipped on some liquid dish soap that had leaked on my carpet.

Well, tonight I was leaving the house to run up to Food Lion. I have been dieting for almost two weeks now and I was having a serious sugar craving. I decided to get an angel food cake because they are low in sugar and stuff. On my way out the door I stepped on a piece of glass. I bled on the porch...my carpet...and bathroom floor. I am such an idiot. The good thing is it wasn't a bad cut, but for a second I feared I wasn't going to back to walk again. Crisis diverted.


Mike's mother moved in with her new husband and they have been going through all of their stuff and combining two households into one. They decided to use Mark's bedroom furniture, and had nothing to do with his mom's anymore. She has a really nice bedroom set and thought about selling it, but instead gave it to me and Mike as our wedding present. Two weekends ago, Mike, Jef, and Jamie went to pick it up. We decided to move our old furniture into our office as a guest room and had to combine our office and our storage room. This was a huge project and it took all weekend and all of last week to get the house back to normal. I had to throw out some things to make room for everything, including a desk I owned. There just wasn't any room in the new office area. It was really hard for me to admit I had to get rid of it. I know it sounds funny, but I was really emotionally attached to that desk. It's a long story and I won't get into it- but that desk meant a lot to me. Instead, we put some small shelves in there for my desk items like paper, pencils, paper clips, etc- and I told Mike and Jef that I would agree to get rid of the desk on one condition: we would call those shelves the Creation Station. Somehow this turned into Jef and I calling the room the Creation Station Lounge. Mike also went out and bought a huge shelving unit from Sam's Club for some of our previous storage stuff and things for the wedding.






And here is our new bedroom. We still have some work to do. We are going to get some decorations for the dresser and the paintings need to be repositioned and new curtains...It is time to retire the blanket over the big window :) .




And our new guest room:


I wish I had "before" pictures, but I don't. After two years of living here, I didn't have ANY pictures from any of these rooms.

School has been kicking my butt, again. I had a lot of projects due last week and my milestone II interview. I was really nervous about the interview, but thankfully passed with a perfect score!! I think it helped that one of my interviewers was one of my professors and another was a co-worker of my mother's. I'm so happy to be on Spring Break, but I still have a lot to do for school including two midterms coming up and a bunch of projects for my Technology class.

I have also been working on wedding stuff hard core. Jef let me know last night there are TEN weeks until the big day. That is no time at all. I can't believe it. Tomorrow, Jef and Jamie's girlfriend Renee are coming over to help me do some stuff. We are going to print off the invitations and start assembling them among other things.

It's going to be here before I know it. My life is changing so fast. Getting married....one more year until graduation...it's kind of overwhelming.

I told Mike I want to do one last big thing as a single couple. We are going to go camping probably at the end of April. I am excited. I have never been REAL camping before. I just think it will be nice to have some alone time before we get married after all of the hubbub. And, Zoe will get to come too.