Max's new hair cut!

My poor boy! He looks so pitiful with his short haircut!!

The ride home from the vet's office!

Look how light he looks with no fur!

And his head looks so big!

Trying to ignore me at home!
His little rat-tail!!

Fur-Baby Friday!

This was my cat Max on the way to the vet this morning... not a happy kitty...


I told him it was his fault. Yep, he did this to himself... I woke up to find a fly strip, you know those nasty sticky things that trap fruit flies, ON MY COUCH. When I went to bed, it was hanging in the kitchen, doing its' job. Well, Max must have gotten into it because his entire right side was sticky (and his butt too)... this called for a quick bath, which didn't work, and then an emergency trip to the vet's office. Thankfully I have a great vet who worked him in. I'll post photos of his haircut later... he is currently being monitored at the vet's to make sure he didn't eat any pesticide. Yep, definitely his fault... as the vet said this morning - "Curiosity killed the cat" - I definitely have a curious cat on my hands.

Sweet girl...

This little sweet pea, Oksana, recently had her Reece's Rainbow grant almost double. She has $10,388.90 available for her adoption. I am over the moon excited for her. She needs a family, and she needs one soon, before she is transferred in January to a mental institution from the safety of the orphanage. This large grant will help her to get there... I can't believe it, what a great day this is...

Day 28-Something that stresses you out

I am EXTREMELY stressed out by the idea of animals that are being abused or mistreated in any way. I love animals so much and the more I get involved in animal cruelty awareness, the more I know about the inhumane ways they are treated. Animals are not objects, they are not unfeeling, they are not disposable. They think, they feel, they love, they adore, they desire human affection, they depend on human kindness, they are God' precious gifts to humans and it SICKENS ME that more people do not understand or care about animal welfare. I encourage everyone to dig deeper into animal cruelty case files, into the truth about animal testing facilities, into the lack of laws protecting animals who are beaten, killed, made to fight, raped, or starved to death. Our laws are deplorable, and need to be re-evaluated. Trust me, if you dig deeper, and actually educate yourself, you will never be the same. Yes, you will come face to face with some truly evil humans (monsters), but you will think twice about the way you live your life, and that's a good thing. Our animals depend on us. They are voiceless, and we have an obligation to speak for them.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

My vacation in videos...

Me riding on the tube... our first day on the lake!

Me towing Roman on our last day...

Poor little tube...

I will post photos and stories later, but I wanted to post just a couple of videos!!!

Day 27 - My Pets (or as I prefer... my 4-legged, fur-babies)

This is is Sam. He was my first cat. He was born in July of 2002 and is just a huge sweetheart. He was found by a shelter volunteer lying by the road in February of 2004 with several BB pellets in him, as well signs that he had been savagely attacked by another animal. He lost his eye because of infection, and still gets nervous when people tower over him, but otherwise shows no signs of the hard life he lived before I met him. He is such a great addition to my life.


This is Max. He was born in December of 2003. He has been with me as long as Sam has (except for the 4 hour delay between when I picked up and Sam and Max). Max is a polydactyl and has extra toes. His thumbs are the biggest my vet has ever seen! It is because of these large thumbs that he lost his eye. When he was a kitten, he scratched his own eye to such an extent that is had to be removed. It hasn't slowed him down any, and he craves attention just like any other Russian Blue! Such a joy to have in my life!


This is Annabelle. She was born in May of 2008. She is hands-down my biggest troublemaker, and my greatest source of entertainment. The predicaments she gets herself in, are fantastic, and her snuggles are the best. She used to live with another girl who decided to get rid of her when she acted too much like a kitten and attacked any/all toys, hands, feet, etc. Once she grew up a little, and had some proper training, she has become a love-bug and lap-cat. I am so grateful I was gifted with this cat everyday!


My latest and last (for a while) fur-baby is Zeke. He was born ~ in September of 2009. He was dumped outside by his previous owner, so I really don't know his birthday, but have been able to get pretty close based on his size and his behavior. As you can see, he likes to sleep in strange places, and has been known to appear in a number of crazy places... the tomato planter, the top of the bookshelf, under the bathroom sink, and on the refrigerator. I love his tenacity, and his enjoyment of life. The only thing that saddens me is the stress he feels when new people come into the house or when I move furniture. It hasn't hit him yet that I will not abandon him. I'm sure this will come, but in the mean time, he gets lots of snuggles.

Day 26-Picture of your family

Dad, Roman, Stephanie, me, Mom

This was taken at Stephanie and Roman's wedding May 8, 2010. A great family photo!

Day 25-Favorite memory

Although this is not a specific memory, one of my favorite times in my life was when I studied abroad in Freiburg Germany. I was fortunate enough to spend my Junior year of college abroad, and it changed me in ways I never imagined possible. I loved the culture, the people, and the pace of life. I was home when I was in Germany, and know in my heart that I was happier then. Sure, I had my moments when I grew homesick, or when I had fights with my friends, but all in all, I was happier in Germany. It peaked my interest in different cultures, I learned to be even more adventurous than I already was, and I learned to appreciate the smaller things in life.

While in Germany, I was fortunate enough to be able to travel Europe fairly extensively. I still had classes, so I didn't get to see or do everything I would have liked, but I did see 9 other countries. Those countries are: Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, and Italy. It was an awesome experience and was one made possible only because I had parents who gave me the opportunity and fortitude to study abroad.

The photo above is of me at Schauinsland, the peak of Freiburg's local mountain. It was gorgeous from the top, and on clear days (like the one in the photo), you could see the Swiss Alps. Talk about gaining a deeper understanding of your position in this world!

I look forward to the day that I get to go back to Germany, it feels like home in ways I can't even express, but I look forward to walking my old streets, eating at my favorite restaurants, and seeing the home away from home again.

Fur-Baby Friday!

This little troublemaker is Zeke. He came to live with me when his former owner threw him outside as he was moving. Basically, I went into the main office of my apartment complex one day last Summer/Fall and Zeke was hanging around the office. The apartment managers told me that the maintenance men had found him stuck in a drainage ditch earlier that afternoon. He belonged to a former tenant who threw him outside when he wasn't able to take him with or find him a home. It was 430 on a Friday afternoon and the apartment ladies were going to have to take him to the shelter unless they could find someone to take him at least short term. Well, they found a sucker in me! I still have him, but would be willing to let him go to another home if I found the perfect setting. In the mean time, he is my snuggle-bug, my comedian, and my constant companion. Here he is lounging on top of the fridge watching me clean the kitchen. I love my Zeke-ster!!!

Day 24-Something you’ve learned

Hmm... there are loads of things I have learned... I guess I'll pick one thing I learned the hard way:

Credit cards are extremely dangerous. I applied for and received my first credit card when I was 18. I have had them since then and I haven't always been the most responsible user of my credit cards. A couple of years ago I had wracked up over $15,000 worth of credit card debt... a huge amount for someone making $20,000 annually at the time. With alot of hard work, and a significant raise, I am making considerable progress toward getting that debt paid off. But, it just wasn't worth it. The meals I bought on my credit card, the shoes, the jewelry, and everything else, just weren't worth it.

All of you who haven't fallen into this trap, DON'T! It's much easier to budget and save for those items you need, and you'll value them more, trust me!

Thinking about this sweetheart today!

I love this sweet girl and hope she has a family commit to her soon! She deserves all the best this life has to offer! I love you, sweet Oksana!

Momma cat gets spayed!

So, I have a really soft spot in my heart for cats. I would love to rescue every one I encounter, but know that I can't. I am fortunate enough to live in the apartment building farthest back in our complex, thus out of the line of traffic, and there is a family of cats who the neighbors all love and feed. In the 14 months since I have lived there, I have seen her give birth 3 times. So, I decided, enough is enough, it was time to get her spayed. Thus far, she has trusted me enough to let me pet her and hold her (briefly), so I used her trust to capture her and get her to the humane society to be spayed. That was yesterday.

I love her dearly, and plan on releasing her once she is healed, but oh is she mad!!! Anyway, I am happy because I don't have to see her 6 lb. body birth any more babies.

Here are two pictures of her hanging out on my car... she used to do that pretty often. Time will tell whether she forgives me enough to do so in the future.

Fur-Baby Friday...

Featuring: Annabelle

I love this girl! She is so sweet and so curious about everything! She makes me laugh non-stop with the silly things she does! Here are some photos of her chilling in the Chinese take-out bag!

Day 23-Favorite vacation

I've had lots of "favorite" vacations, but I really, really enjoyed my vacation last year, so I will talk about that one here. So, my mom called me in June and asked if I could get a week off over the 4th of July to go up north to my grandparents' cottage. (FYI: up north is a small town called Big Bay, just outside of Marquette MI) My grandma passed away in 2009 and we needed to get the cottage ready to sell, so we planned to mix in some cleaning and packing with some good ol' fashioned vacationing. It was an amazing week and we had loads of fun. It was bittersweet because some of my mom's siblings thought that they would go together and purchase the cottage so that everyone could enjoy it, but instead one of my mom's brothers decided he "didn't like to share," and wouldn't agree to let it be a joint purchase. So, despite it being an amazing week, I look back and am sad because I know that it will be my last week up there. My mom spent most of her summers up there growing up, so it is especially sad that she won't be able to spend her future vacations there. Anyway, enough of the sadness, here are some fun photos of our trip up north!

Waiting for the parade to start. Every year there is a 4th of July parade in Big Bay put on by the kids at the special needs camp in Big Bay. It is so exciting for the kids, and basically all of Big Bay comes out for it (all 500 residents).

This is my lounging on my raft in Lake Independence. It was SO relaxing!!

Riding the jet ski!

Jet ski!

Me, my mom, and my sister standing on the shore of Lake Superior. It was gorgeous!

This time with my aunt Julia! Funny that my mom and her sister are wearing blue and my sister and I are wearing black!

We celebrated our last night by going out to a Cajun restaurant in Marquette. The food was great!

On the way back, we decided to go on a boat trip on Lake Superior to look at some sunken ships! We had great seats on the front of the boat on the upper deck!

Me on the front of the boat... what a beautiful day!

Good Bye, beautiful Northern Michigan!

Day 22 - My favorite city

One of my absolute favorite cities in the world is Berlin, Germany. The history and culture of the city is amazing, and I just love spending time there.

This photo of Berlin is courtesy of TripAdvisor