Visit

Hey Marcy and Mike,

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed coming to see you! I really mean it! It was good to get away and just take time to enjoy my family! I wish I could come back this weekend!

Thank you so much for pampering me!!!! I love you both!!!!!!!

Here's some pictures. Enjoy! Tell all at the coffee shop Thank You. Good people!

Love,
The Mom


My mom and sister came to visit us last weekend. We worked and worked to get ready for them to come, buying a new bed, finishing a spare room and cleaning our fool heads off!!

It was all worth it.

The Coffee Shop - Friday night

We went to U of I on Saturday to try to feed the squirrels. Unfortunately, we only found one. But we did do some people watching.


There was some sort of "poker run" in Sadorus. Although, I've heard the term used many times, I'm not sure exactly what it means, except a large group of bikers riding around to different areas on a beautiful day. It was an amazing site.


The latest photo of my parents' cats. The "baby" is now bigger than the other one. Here he is aggressively cleaning his older sister.

1st Annual Baby Bunny Photos

It seems that each year we're going to find a nest (is that the right term?) of baby bunnies in our yard. Oh, they're soooo cute - I'd love to keep them all and snuggle them.

But, really - we try not to bother them. Last night, my husband was mowing the yard and found this year's "batch o' bunnies". He only picked one up to move it back into its hole but, when he picked it up - I took the opportunity to photograph the little guy...or gal...uh, cutie!!

Last night's photos

Always exciting times at my house - I was cleaning last night. My mom and sister are coming to visit this weekend. (Yay!!!) Surprisingly two of my cats are not afraid of the vacuum. Here's Lucky (my husband's favorite cat) watching me vacuum:

(This picture is a little blurry, but I had to post it!)

Later in the evening, all of the kitties were gathered in the kitchen. Here are three of them:

Aren't they comfy?? While I've been working?

Hmph.

Tuffy-baby

We often marvel at how large Tuffy is. My husband took this photo of Tuffy a while ago.

(Please don't mind my clown pajamas.)

And even though he is large, he's a gentle giant. He's one of our most lovable cats and, well...

Easter bunnies - uh, cats

My friend, gnightgirl, sent these photos to me and thought they'd be perfect for my blog.

She was right!

Cat Tales

We've been coming home lately to find our two "cat drawers" in the kitchen open. Kitty treats strewn everywhere.

Here may be why:




Watch this one until the very end:

Tommy's New Home

My father-in-law sent me some photos of the happy Tommy in his new home.

I think he's so damn cute! I'm very glad he's happy - he's a great housecat.

Letter to the Editor

My letter to the editor was printed in the local paper today. Woohoo!

They edited my letter a little - made it more concise in parts and put in at least one typo. That's a little upsetting because I don't want to look careless/stupid. However, I realize that I wrote this letter to tell about this wonderful organization and to help kitties - so, I'll get over that.

Here's the text of my original letter:

I wanted to write about a wonderful experience I had with a local non-profit organization that helps felines. CATsNAP (Champaign Area Trap Spay/Neuter and Adoption Program - www.catsnap.org) is a local no-kill shelter/foster program and, as their name implies, they run a spay/neuter facility in conjunction with Animal Control.

As a cat owner (with five of my own), I recently encountered a stray cat that decided to call my back porch home. I e-mailed CATsNAP asking if they were accepting animals. Unfortunately, they were full. But, very fortunately - Susan Norris asked that I bring "Tommy" in to have him neutered and vaccinated. What a relief to me to at least be making some progress in the adoption process. When I dropped Tommy off I met a young woman in scrubs. I was talking to her for several minutes before I realized she was the vet, Dr. Gretchen Reid. I got choked up as I attempted to tell her what a generous and wonderful job she does. I told Dr. Reid that I have five cats of my own and just don’t know what I would do with anymore…she told me that she has eight. And she fosters many more. She is truly an inspirational woman.

As it turned out, Tommy was already neutered but Dr. Reid updated his shots and treated him for parasites, etc. I left a donation to help their cause. This is a cause I believe in. We have an incredible amount of homeless animals in the Champaign-Urbana area. Our Humane Society cannot keep up with all of the incoming animals. I encourage you to read CATsNAP’s website and see the statistics. CATsNAP has taken in almost 400 cats from the Humane Society. Cats that would have been “exterminated”. Again, this is not the Humane Society’s fault – there are too many cats in this area that need homes. And for these homeless cats to wander around intact – only creates more and more cats that are in need of homes. It is understandable that not all people can afford to spay/neuter their cat(s), but CATsNAP is a program that provides spaying/neutering for pets of low income families and/or feral cats. There is a suggested donation of $20 to $30 per cat.

Right now, Tommy is staying with us. We will make sure that he finds a loving home. Here’s to hoping all cats are as lucky as Tommy.

**Tommy did find a happy home!

Tag!

I've been tagged by my friend, gnightgirl, so - here goes:

Four jobs I've had
1. Convenient Store Clerk
2. Hotel maid
3. Easter Bunny
4. Legal Assistant/Secretary

Four movies I can watch over and over
1. Sense & Sensibility
2. She’s the One
3. Clue
4. Inventing the Abbotts

Four places I have lived
1. Houston, TX
2. Abilene, TX
3. Urbana, IL
4. Sadorus, IL

Four TV shows I love
1. Dawson’s Creek
2. Arrested Development
3. Strangers With Candy
4. The Office

(I could go on and on and on…)

Four places I've vacationed
1. Jackson, OH
2. Lille, France
3. Chicago, IL
4. St. Louis, MO

(Not very exciting – I need more vacations)

Four of my favorite dishes
1. Esquire pizza
2. LoriRice
3. crab chili
4. Courier burger

(Uh, I could go on and on….)


Four sites I visit daily
1. www.hotmail.com
2. www.gnightgirl.blogspot.com
3. www.yahoo.com
4. www.msn.com

Four places I would rather be right now
1. England
2. Ireland
3. Anywhere warm
4. home


Four people I am tagging
1. Woof
2. Aimer
3. Phyller
4. Tiny Oranges

Tommy has a new home!!

I went home Friday night expecting to try, try again introducing the cats to each other. My husband greeted me at the car: "I think I might have found a home for Tommy."

His dad wanted him.

I was a little conflicted. The li'l girl in me (probably the biggest part of me - let's face it) screamed: "It's MY cat!!!!" But, Tommy needs a home. We have five cats. Our cats didn't seem to take to him very well and we don't need anymore cats. Let's be sensible here. I also know that Mike's parents will give him a good home. They are cat lovers like we are. Where else could Mike have gotten it from?

OK, we take a road trip to deliver the kitty. It's about 70 miles to Mike's parents' house. Tommy is not a good rider. He screamed so loudly I decided to let him out of the carrier so that he could walk around freely.


He finally calmed down after we were almost there:


We arrived and he made himself at home right away. He is going to be a very happy kitty.