King of the Mountain

Fat Belly

Atlanta and Back

My Atlanta trip is over, and it was well worth it. It was full of fun meetings, good company and delicious food - and overall, just a great experience for me professionally. But as much as I was grateful for the experience, it is so nice to be home. I crashed on the couch for a few hours tonight, and now I think I'll watch TV from bed before hitting the sack for tomorrow. And Antonio and Ana seem so happy to have me home.

This weekend:
- Crabs?
- Farmer's market?
- Tree Planting for Jones Falls Association?

My Pretty Girl

This is actually a really rare picture. Ana would rather lay down under the futon that on top of it. Awfully strange for a cat, really. She has only tried climbing the bookshelf in the bedroom... other than that, she's happy stayin' low. Weird, but I love her...

Friday in Review

Our vet appointment went well today. Antonio lost weight (yay!) and weighs a trim 10 lbs 12 oz. He was on his way to 12 lbs about six months ago so we were very happy to hear it. Everything is well with him, with the ever-so-slight- exception of his teeth, which, at eight years of age, look great compared to most dachshunds. I just brushed his teeth for the first time ever, and honestly, he didn't seem to mind at all.

Cipriana (Ana) also did very well. The vet can't say for sure if she has had kittens or if she has just been through a few heat cycles in her life, but at four years old unspayed, our bet is kittens. Today Ana weighs 9 lbs 3 oz which is up from 7 lbs 8 oz when I adopted her. This is excellent! But now she's at her ideal weight, so I was given a scoop to make sure I don't overfeed her. Overall, Ana is in excellent health, too, which makes me ecstatic and relieved.

(And, of course, all of this made me miss my Elliott.)

After the vet I worked eight hours from noon until not too long ago... so now I am tired again. At this point, I think maybe I have an ear thingy and not a sinus infection because although I don't have pain, I think the clogginess is in my ears. I'm wondering if the ringing that I heard for a day or two after the NKOTB concert started this - think: concert, ear ringing, headaches and nausea - the symptoms all start to make sense. Now the questions are: Do I just need healing time? Or do I have a problem? I don't know.

All of this speculation, of course, means that I am now going to have a lame weekend. I intend to be lazy, stay in, and - with exception to seeing Delilah and Rilee tomorrow - do nothing. I need to kick this ear thing and hydrate and rest.

Oh... and I need to watch On the Waterfront and The Grapes of Wrath. Jealous yet?

Ten on Tuesday (the Early Edition)

1. I am so excited for my girls to get here. Even though we'll be together for only twenty hours or so, I can't WAIT! NKOTB, here we come! (Again!)

2. I'm driving home to Ohio on Friday morning. I drop the girls off at the airport at 6:30 AM, then I'll pack and hit the road. Baby Shower and grandparent visits are planned.

3. Ana. Sneezes. At night. In my face. I don't like it.

4. Ummm... weird question: what are girl cat nipples supposed to look like? Ana has funny looking nipples - I'M SORRY! They're skinny and long-like. Weird, right? But maybe I just don't know girls.

5. I realized on Sunday that I'd seen 44 of the 100 American Film Institute's top movies. Make that 45 because I just finished watching Bridge over the River Kwai. Wow. I think I saw it as a kid, but I'm glad I watched it again as an adult - it's a great movie. Really, really great. Next up: The Grapes of Wrath.

6. On that note, if you don't have Netflix, I highly recommend it. While I'm waiting for one movie to arrive, I watch one or two more on the Internet. Next on Netflix online: Casablanca.

7. I need to finish Jeanne's blanket. Like... pronto.

8. Marie wants me to start digital scrapbooking. Hmmm... another hobby.

9. Oh! Ana has a meow. Barely. It is even more pathetic than Mariah's meow. She's tried about three times, and each time I know that she's meowing more because I can see it rather than hear it.

10. I almost forgot: READER POLL. Where can I get decent crab cakes to go that will last the drive (chilled) to Ohio? I need something easy and local, but not cheap-o. Help. It's for my grandpa.

Day Seven

Okay... I need to stop giving Ana nighttime love. She's keeping me up, and I'm exhausted. If I limit the lovin' she gets during the night, maybe she'll venture out more during the day. I've also decided that I'm not going to separate them while I am at work today. Ana hasn't growled or hissed at Antonio in days, and she's been very close to him a number of times... I'm going to trust that she can keep herself away from him should she feel that she needs to.

I need caffeine...

Day Six

Ana seems more comfortable at night... she has been sleeping on the bed with us, looking out the windows, and begging for neck scratches all between 3-8 AM. Lovely. After I let Antonio out this morning... back under the bed she went. Weird.

Last night I had one of the worst dreams I've ever had. I dreamt that I was stood up at the alter. I didn't actually wake up crying, but I've never felt so awful waking up from a dream. It was bad. I distinctly remember the church, the family, the guy... but not so much the dress. Bad... really bad.

Day Five

MAJOR progress. Ignoring Ana drove her to come out from hiding looking for love. Last night she walked the apartment once, and by 3 AM she was lying at the foot of the bed while we slept. This morning she slept next to me and then on a pillow. No growling at Antonio. YAY! Still a little skittish, but SUUUUCCCCEEESSSSS! :)

Day Four

I woke up at 3 AM to the sound of someone scratching in the litter box. Yay! That means that Ana came out from under the bed to do her business without any help from me. Of course, she still didn't cover up her poo - a problem we'll have to deal with soon - but I am quite happy that she was responsible enough to come out of hiding to take care of business.

At 5:30 AM, I woke up to the sound of Ana eating (double Yay!), which means she came out on her own yet again to partake in food and water. I stopped myself from getting up, because it's important that she be able to do these things without it being a production, and even better yet, Antonio didn't react to the sounds either time so he stayed put, too.

All good signs. I'll still keep them separated while I am gone, but I think the days of dragging her out from under the bed are over. Now that I know she'll come out as she needs to, I'm going to leave it to her to come out when she decides she's had enough of her alone time and needs some momma love.

"Who's your doggie?"

I think it's appropriate that "Who's your doggie?" is on my t-shirt, don't you?

A View from the Momma

Ana's Home

Ana's home.

I'm very happy. It's rather unfortunate that she peed on me in the car, but it certainly explains her being so fidgety. And she has already pooed in the cat box - and didn't cover it up - but we'll give her another pass on that. The formal introduction with Antonio didn't go so well (lots of growling on her part)... but that's natural, too. Currently she's way back under the bed and Antonio and I are hanging out "as usual" so as not to overwhelm her. I have to admit that it's sad we all couldn't be on our best behavior at such an important moment, but this is all quite normal for these situations. And I am very proud to say that Antonio is on his absolute best behavior. What a gentleman.

All is well, but we certainly have a lot of work to do. :)

LOVE

Nicole and I are in love - and not with each other. We spent an unimaginable amount of time at BARCS this weekend, and after all of the stress, sadness and time, we both have new family members. It's just THRILLING. I wasn't at all prepared to get a cat this weekend, but Cipriana (Sip-ree-ann-ah) is one of the most gorgeous cat's I've ever seen, and she won my heart. She's 4 years old and was surrendered by her owner for financial reasons. I have no idea why you'd surrender this cat, so time will tell if she has any bad habits. :)

One cool thing about Ana is that she's actually a rare Siamese breed called Snowshoe. It's rare because the traits that "make" the breed arerecessive traits making them difficult to breed. So although at first I thought she was a Siamese mix, I now have a full bred Siamese cat on my hands - that's sure to help my insomnia, right?

Anyway, she's getting spayed on Tuesday so I pick her up Tuesday night. I am overwhelmingly distracted by my excitement, and I think after she settles in and gets comfortable, she should be a great companion for Antonio - and possibly even a playmate.

Here are a few photos:



On the flip side, Nicole found a dog she liked on Saturday, only to find that the new dog and Delilah didn't have the chemistry we all hoped for. Delilah was almost intimidated, and as much as we loved this dog, it wasn't going to be a good fit. While I started paperwork on Ana - Nicole, Gina and I walked through the shelter again and met Jackie (new name TBD), a dog that just arrived at the shelter on Friday. She was so timid at first, but after some playtime outside she started coming out of her shell so we felt comfortable introducing her to Delilah. Result? Success. Nicole decided to move forward with the adoption, and as long as no previous owner comes looking for her tomorrow (she was found as a stray), she'll be spayed and start a new life with Nicole and lil' d later this week.

I'm exhausted and excited. I can't wait to bring them home!

Photos of the new pup:

My New Cat, Capriana (Ana)!