Life with Callie

Jan 19, 2010 by

Yes, this is a post about one of my three cats. I am so evolving into the cat lady!

As I posted about at the beginning of December, Callie came into my life via my mom.

What I didn’t post about is the condition in which she arrived. One of my mom’s cats bit hard into her tail. We figured it would heal, but over the next three weeks, her tail got worse. We carted her off to the Vet on December 23 and the news was grim. If we didn’t work on it a lot she would lose it. I was pretty devastated. But we didn’t want to give up on her tail. So we started doing weekly visits and loads of powerful antibiotics.

They also wrapped it up, which made me happy. I’m sorry, I know I should love her unconditionally but I had time cuddling her and such because it grossed me out (shameful!).

And then she came home with a cone, which she did not like at all. I couldn’t blame her, I would go crazy. Her spirit was definitely squashed and she pretty much just slept all the time.

After five days, we took off her cone to give her a break and to clean herself. She was soooo happy that we felt terrible putting it back on. I mean, it was like a life spark. She was hyper and wild and kitten like all over again. So we didn’t put it back on, and she’s been so good about not messing with her bandages!

On Friday, we’ll take her back to the Vet for hopefully her last visit. She’ll get to keep her tail! They’ll remove the bandage. Only sad part is that she’ll have to wear the cone for a few days so the one spot that is still kind raw won’t open and bleed all over and get infected all over again.

Another thing that I must share, because any cat owner will understand how awesome this is, but Callie has no problem whatsoever with going to the Vet or being in her carrier. She doesn’t try to hide in the exam room or anything and everyone loves her there. If it hadn’t been for her complete willingness to get healed this whole process would have been so much more traumatizing.

MLK Weekend 2010

Callie and her injured tail

Besides her tail woes, she is a pleasure to live with. She’s still got a kitten attitude and hasn’t quite learned all the rules of the house. She’s not the best listener and it’s hard to rattle her. We yell and clap our hands and she hears us, but she doesn’t listen. In fact, it’s a good thing she’s an indoor cat because she doesn’t scare easily and is ultimately friendly with strangers. And I recently discovered that she’s not afraid of the vacuum cleaner. Crazy!

MLK Weekend 2010

Little Miss Callie goes wherever she pleases, including the countertops...grr.

And as for the other cats, they are slowly accepting her into their clique. Persephone took to her faster than Penny, which wasn’t a surprise. They both are a lot alike actually. They both make the same noises, sleep the same way, and love to play with the same things. So Penny’s a bit on her own. But even Penny is warming up to her. I feel a little bad because Penny has delicate nerves and Callie will chase her around to engage her in play. I also root Penny on when she turns the tables and chases after her.

But it’s all coming together. Now instead of two nosy little cats following me around at all times, I have three. I don’t understand why my cats don’t blend into the background and come out only at meal times, but I guess I’m lucky that they are that way, because I constantly have furry friends around me.

MLK Weekend 2010

Easiest way to get cats together....open a window.

So she’s made her mark and found her place and I can’t imagine life without her now. We’re hooked for life!

January 18 2010

Loving the sun :-)

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An announcement and where I quote MLK and New Moon in the same post

Jan 18, 2010 by

First…the announcement!

For a couple of months now, my sister, Marissa, and I have been working on a new blog project. Something where we can each make posts about our desire to be better people and…big girls. We spend a lot of time together going on and on about how we’re going to make life changes. And so we decided really try this year to do it, and share our experience with people.

We’re calling it “The Simple Sisters.” Mostly because we’re trying to find simple ways to be adult like (organized, responsible, financially sound, etc.).

So check it out. We’re having a pretty fun time with it and it’s working so far to keep us in line.

Today I posted a couple of times over there, including the post below. I thought I’d cross-post this one over here too.

Three Day Weekend Clean Up!

First, and foremost…today is Martin Luther King Jr. day and it’s definitely a day to celebrate and remember his contributions and principles. I happened to read an MLK quotation today that I thought was quite good, particularly in this time of tragic circumstances in Haiti,“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?”

Giving back to others is obviously a very important thing to think about and do, andI feel funny pivoting from that sentiment, but this is a post about doing things for myself. I’m learning that taking good care of yourself, frees you to do good things for others. And boy am I no where near being able to truly help others because there’s so much work to do here.

And if turning away from that sentiment wasn’t bad enough, I’m about to quote the movie “New Moon,” in the same post as quoting the great Martin Luther King Jr. This part of the movie really stuck out at me. Charlie, Bella’s dad, is encouraging her to see Jacob and he says You know, sometimes, you gotta learn to love what’s good for you.

Rather wise I must admit. And something that I need learn. Having a clean and organized home is not only good for me, it’s good for others. I need to learn to love it and strive toward it.

I’m not a terribly messy person, and I’m not terribly cluttered or disorganized. But I’m not solid in the other direction. My house gets messy, I neglect it and just go through the motions. I vacuum every now and again, and do the dishes when there’s no more counter space by the sink. I cook here and there, and have a decent pantry. And I do laundry when my underwear runs out. I could obviously be better about taking care of my environment and my things.

I tend to use the excuse that it’s because I’m on my own and I work full time. But what I’ve found is that I don’t really enjoy my off time because I’m constantly thinking about how I should be cleaning. And if it’s not clean, and my kitchen is not accessible, I tend to pick up fast food. My health suffers because I don’t have a clean kitchen, and the like.

So I decided that I would use this three day weekend to clean up a little bit and that’s what I’ve done. It also helped that I had a little pressure on me. I knew all week that I was going to have house guests on Sunday night to watch the Golden Globes. What an excellent source of pressure.

With all that in mind, and the great start I made this weekend, I want to work toward making it a habit, and be a big girl with a nice clean apartment.

Check out the clean up pictures!

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I actually went out (kinda) on a Friday night!

Jan 16, 2010 by

Or this post could have been titled “My Great Photography Fail.”

A long, long time ago…2003-2004ish, maybe, I hired my first real student assistant, Andy. He was a bit of a non-traditional student, who had gone half way through college and then joined the Peace Corps and did good deeds (and got Malaria. Twice.). When I hired him, he was back from his dutiful stint and trying to finish up his degree. We had good times, and we had bad times, as I tried to figure out my footing as a supervisor, which is something I continue to struggle with at times.

Anyway, he graduated and moved away with his girlfriend Kerry, who is now his wife, to New Haven so she could go to Yale for graduate school. These days, they’re living in Oklahoma. He’s a firefighter and has his own web design business, and she works for the parks service, or something like that.

So with all of that lead up, it’s probably obvious who I went out with last night. Andy made some strong connections with a lot of folks at ITS while he worked for me, and even played on our softball team. So we had a group of 18 last night that filled up an entire back room at the Walnut Brewery in downtown Boulder.

Andy and Kerry were great to visit with. They seem really happy together and are such nice, down-to-earth folks that there was no awkward haven’t seen you in a long time phase to break through.

My favorite part of the night was when Andy told me that the skills he learned working for me has made a huge impact on his life and he thanked me for it. I was so delighted to hear that! I always try to help my student assistants understand that their job with me is gonna be one that they can draw from for years to come. Sadly, I’ve had a couple students who never grasped that and chose to prioritize other activities and less meaningful jobs over their position with my department. They get it now that they’ve graduated and are coming back to me often for advice and references.

The biggest disappointment was that I didn’t take any pictures. No pictures, even though I had my camera in my purse, and even though I thought about doing it a couple of times. I just didn’t have the nerve. That is something I have to get over.

So when I came home, I had a little bit of fun making a picture to showcase the moment. Yay for Photoshop, Project Runway, and HGTV to take me into the wee hours of the night.

people

Rochelle, Andy, and Kerry in cartoon format.

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Hey You! Yeah, you…the Lurker. Today’s your day to shine.

Jan 14, 2010 by

That’s right it’s National De-Lurker Day. What does that mean? It means, if you read this little old blog of mine and you’ve never commented before, it’s time to make your mark and make yourself known.

Yeah, I know, I know….it’s nice to stay in the shadows. I do that all the time. I read about 125 blogs regularly and there are many that I don’t make comments on. So let’s make a deal, I’ll go to some of the blogs I read and say hello too!

Click here to leave a comment!

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Kreativ Blogger!

Jan 13, 2010 by

My dear online friend Jen at True Confessions of a Scrapbooker has nominated me for a “Kreativ Blogger” award. Thanks Jen! You are truly awesome.

In the same spirit as Jen and the people before her, I’m going to nominate a few people I think deserve this award as well.

Ally @ Ally B Speakin. This girl is hilarious and lives in my own backyard. She’s writes truly hilarious posts and deserves this award for simply thinking of the topics that she does. She also treats her pets like children, just like me, and that is awesome.

Amanda @ Magnanimouse. A friend from real life that moved away to Seattle. Get this…she’s an actual artist (for real), an IT whiz, an amazing pastry chef, and a soon to be mom. She is also the queen of snark, and I love that about her.

Danielle @ My Blog, My Life. Another friend from real life that I knew in college. She’s recently started her own Photography business and is an amazing photographer! She’s also a kick ass stay at home mom to two adorable boys. She can also whip up a mean scrapbook page that makes me jealous and eager to imitate.

Jen @ McDougall Photography (A Day In the Life). Jen is my Project 365 hero. She stuck to the program so well and is keeping it up. She’s also one of the best digital scrapbookers I’ve come across. She does all this with three kids under the age of three and a part time job. She is also completely hilarious and I know her originally from my EJami life, where she can make the snarkiest and most hilarious comments on a television show that there has ever been.

Laurel @ A Year With the Yorks. A fellow Creative Memories scrapbooker, Project 365er, and over all fabulous lady. I love her site and to follow along almost every day. Her journaling is great and I love her pictures!!

And now I’m supposed to tell you seven things about myself that you may not know. That’s part of getting the award. Although I’m not sure what’s left to share since I’m pretty out there already. I’ll give it a go…

7 Things:

  1. I have a Snuggie and it is one the best things I got for Christmas. I freaking love it and feel bad for making fun of the concept for so long.
  2. I once considered becoming a nun. Seriously. It was when I was younger and just entered college. It was actually rather sad and pathetic, and not for the best reasons. I essentially thought that I would never fall in love, so why not just love the church instead of dealing with that rejection.
  3. My grandfather and I had a really special bond when I was a kid, and up until he died in 1998. I was unabashedly his absolute favorite grandchild, which was awkward for my siblings. When I think of unconditional love, I think of how he loved me. He also loved to write poetry, and I didn’t know that until after I was writing my own. Strange how things pass down.
  4. My female intuition is pretty in tune. I can sense and predict things quite often that those around me don’t, particularly men.
  5. Speaking of men, I love them! Not in a slutty way, but I tend to run with boys more than girls. Maybe that’s why I succeed where I work, but it’s always been that way. I am far more comfortable around men than I am around women.
  6. That being said, I absolutely hate hate hate the division of the sexes. I do not like “Girls Nights”, or the fact that I can’t participate in a “Guys Night” because I don’t have the right equipment. This tendency in our society (and I’m sure around the world), infuriates me and is a huge point of stress for me.
  7. I still have dreams where I have to protect my little sister from serious harm. I used to have nightmares about that when I was a teenager and she was just a little kid and I would have to babysit her a lot.
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