Dave and Suz in Wonderland

A few nights ago, Dave pointed out that since we got our 2 newest family members, Dory (16 wks.) and Gracie (19 mos.), things here at home have become a LOT weirder!

History for those who don't know... In the last year we lost our oldest 2 cats. These losses were traumatic and horrible, not just for us but also for our youngest cat. Merlin is 16 and after Em, who was his best buddy and official head eater (yes, she tried to eat his head on an almost daily basis), and then Alex died, he seemed lost. There was 9 months between the two deaths and he tried to play with Alex the way he had with Em, but Alex had no interest in trying to eat his head, or ears, or even play with him in any way. So when Alex died, he had no-one but Dave and I to really be with or play with, we never seemed to be what he wanted. Mind you, Merlin LOVES his Daddy and even holds his hand when he sits with Dave (which is truly one of the cutest things ever!). But, especially when his Dad wasn't home, he started to wander around the apartment, crying and calling out trying to find his sisters who just vanished as far as he knew. So Dave and I talked about getting at least one cat who was above a year old and maybe also a kitten since our MN Animal Shelter has a program where if you adopt a kitten, you can also adopt an older cat (over 1 year) with no fee! And so Dory and Gracie came to live in our home.

The first impression shared by Merlin when he saw Dory (who was TINY at only 9 wks.) was "KILL IT!" But with Gracie he was more on the lines of "Hmmm.... well, as long as it doesn't touch me or my Dad, then things might be alright." He certainly stopped wandering and crying and started to attach himself to either Dave, when he was home or if not, to me. Dory and Gracie were met with deep growls and sometimes even a hiss.... which is SO not Merlin! He has never hissed at anyone except the vet (and only in the past 3 years)! We knew that he would feel like his space was being invaded and were very good about making sure he knew he was loved above all and all the other things that you do when you bring in new cats to an older cats home.

In the 7 weeks since we brought the new additions home, things have definitely changed..... in weird and strange ways. Dory, as a kitten of course enjoys the kitten habits of feet chasing and chewing, falling off of things she tries to climb, killing fuzzy balls and catnip mice as well as running and jumping sideways whenever she can't quite figure out how she should react to something new. Gracie, as the older and more intelligent cat, takes most of what Dory dishes out.... including her attempts at head eating (ANOTHER HEAD EATER?!?!) with ease and yes... grace (hence the name change she received when arriving at our home, because Tiger, the name she had at the time of adoption, was the name of a fantastic cat who had belonged to both Dave's grandmother and mom). Gracie loves to wake us up to kneading in the wee hours of the night and or morning, which is sweet..... but when she gets to the face and neck, gets a bit scary since she has all her claws (EEK!!)

The WONDERLAND reference comes from what tends to happen between the hours of oh, let's approximate and say 7pm and midnight. Merlin does his usual, sit on his Dad's lap and gaze at him lovingly while holding his hand and being petted or sit 3 feet away from Dave or I and wait until we realize that he wants food (even though he has food in his bowl already.... but it must be stale or unsatisfactory in some way. He is a finicky man. But, he grew up with Alex and Em, so what else would one expect?!) On the other hand (of someone in a locked psychiatric ward it would seem) are the things that Gracie and Dory do. Dory has developed a habit of jumping on Gracie's back and either trying to eat her head or more often than not, going for what she believes is the jugular and thus the kill(!!!) Gracie has since learned that if she just puts her head down, Dory will fall off.... Dory hasn't figured out why she keeps ending up on the floor. There is also the thrill of the running from between the dining room and the living room and up Dave's chair (either with or without him in it, and let me assure you that being a launch pad is definately interesting) to see who can jump and claw their way to the top of the tree first... the loser being the one who then starts the process over again by smacking the winner until she jumps down and runs back to the dining room. Now, all of this is fairly normal cat play.... until you get to the daily cleaning of the litter. Dory is very "paws on" when it comes to the litter box. She likes to help scoop and OH BOY if there's new litter?!??!?!?! Well, let's just say that you don't have to try and pour the litter on her.... she gets right under that 'litterfall' of Swheat Scoop. And then she plays in the new litter box... EACH ONE... for at least 10-15 minutes. WHY? Maybe she needs to make sure that the litter is well spread out? Each granule touched by her little black paw? Or just to be the dustiest black kitten in the world? Thank the person who invented the kitten wipes..... otherwise Dory would have a bath every day. And BOY WOULDN'T THAT BE A TREAT?!?!?!

Needless to say there is so much more strange behavior that these newcomers have added to our home, including cuddles and cuteness and love that can't be measured. But the changes that have turned our home into WONDERLAND are some of the best. Truly (that's for you Dave!)

Thoughts..... on random musings

Point #1.... since the news has been filled with this Mosque in the "Ground Zero" area, i'm going to weigh in with my opinion.... even though SOMEONE told me that since I didn't lose someone in the disaster my opinion doesn't really matter. To which I say POPPYCOCK! I watched that day and mourned for those people just like most Americans did. So, here goes. Personally, I don't really understand what all the hub-bub is about. Would there be a problem if it was a Zen Buddist center? I think no.... and to limit one groups ability to worship in an area limits us all. Just because certain people (cough FOXNEWS cough) seem to believe that the Mosque proposal with its attached learning center is the code for terrorist hideout and future terror planning initiative (although, when doesn't FOXNEWS think anything Islamic isn't code for a terrorist hideout and future terror planning initiative.... really? think about it..... it should be their new tagline), I tend to take the more optimistic and rational view that it is simply what it says it is. And why shouldn't there be a Mosque there? Muslims died in the attacks... There is a Mosque in the Pentagon and no problems there. It seems that people are blinded by their ignorance and fear and that is something that we should try and fight against.... by LEARNING about what we fear. But again, that's just me. Oh, and a brief sidenote... are there plans for shopping and commerce at the "Ground Zero" site? If so, why is the Gap, Abercrombie, Cinnabon, etc. OK on such "hallowed ground" but worship in the area, because the Mosque is planned NEAR not ON the site, not? Worship the almighty dollar and our power to buy more crap but no.... no Muslims!!! What a load of crap! Sorry... but to quote Seth and Amy on SNL "REALLY???"

Point #1 answer in Suzannahstan: Put the Mosque where it's planned to go and let people actually LEARN a bit about Islam and in a broader way tolerance.

Point #2: Have you watched the "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson"? It's witty, informative, and could easily kick Jay Leno's malicious butt! I have been a fan of Craig for many years, ever since I saw a little mock-u-mentary called "The Big Tease" and laughed so hard that I was in pain. That's a good laugh, despite the pain!! He is truly a comedic genius and I must say that I love him. And just so you know, going into it.... if you have never watched the "Late Late Show..." know that puppets may come up every once in awhile. Wavy, you and Sid are AWESOME!! Aside from his late night genius, Craig is an amazing writer, producer and director. Not to mention his voice work... Can you say "ANGRY BEAVERS"? When his autobiography "American On Purpose.." came out you had to search high and low for his fiction work "Between the Bridge and the River", and by that I mean, it was sold out, everywhere. And his autobiography is truly one of those works of art that can make you both laugh and cry (for me Ch. 1 LAUGH! Ch. 2 CRY! and of course I kept going!) So go out and buy "American on Purpose" and learn a lot about a man who REALLY wanted to be an American and a little about what Laura Bush likes in underwear fashion.....LMAO!

Point #2 answer in Suzannahstan: Craig Ferguson should be on after the news every night and in my opinion required reading in schools.

Point #3: So after the loss of Alex and Molly during the past 12 months, Merlin, our remaining cat a.k.a. "The Handsome Man", was lonely. How do I know this? Well the crying everyday was a big big clue. Dave and I decided that we needed to get Merlin a friend. So off to the pound we went. Wierdly it was a week to the day after Alex died that we went the first time. We just looked, but it was therapeutic and we did find a beautiful calico long haired cat named Elizabeth who we sort of decided we would adopt when the time was right. I also found Rosie, a beautiful ginger kitten who just wanted to talk and be held. So over the next few weeks I checked on Elizabeth to see if she was still available for adoption. She wasn't adopted for over a month and we decided it was time to add her and maybe a kitten too to our family. Three was wierd, four would be strange, and five is a number that seems to work for our little family. SO... off to the AHS website I went. But Elizabeth was gone. I called the actual site and they said that she was adopted. Sigh, so looking through the pictures of their cats and talking to my fantastic mom, we saw Dory. Dory was (at the time) 9 wks old, jet black with greenish eyes and a look that said "You know you want to love me!!". I was sold. I should state at this time that the AHS here in the cities has a program whereby if you adopt a kitten and a cat over the age of 1 you can have the older cats' fee waived. So, bully for us! Dave's mom came over and Marilyn and I headed off to the AHS! Dave stated that he trusted me and whatever I brought home would be just dandy (this is not an exact quote, but it's what I heard :D). Dory was first on my mind when we walked through the door.... but NO!!! Others were handling my sweet Dory and I feared they might want to take her home too! (Kittens go fast at the AHS) So I used my charm.... or whatever and said "You don't want her.... look how cute her brother Nemo is!!!" The mother of one of the girls laughed and as they put Dory back in her cage led the girls to look at other cats. I picked up Dory, while Nemo howled and tried to escape his confines. Dory looked at me with her little kitten eyes and settled into my arms and I was sold, so much so that I grabbed her card and put a deposit down on her right then and there! She was mine! Now to find the older cat to take the brunt of the psychotic kitten energy that we knew would make Merlin insane and want to kill Dory. While I looked on one side, Marilyn looked on the other and we both found a few candidates..... until a beautiful 18 month old female who's name was Tiger caught Marilyn's eye. She pulled Tiger out and held her. Tiger purred and was very affectionate. Then I came over to hold her and Tiger literally fell into my arms and began to almost SING while she purred and kneaded my arm. Smitten is the word I think we are looking for here. So we took Tiger into the private room and just hung out with her for about 10 minutes. To say that Tiger wasn't interested in Marilyn is to put it lightly. I don't know if she knew who was looking for someone to join the family or not, but she was on me like glue! Which was fine by me. She kneaded and purred/sang for our time at the AHS. Marilyn, in her great wisdom said "Well, I think you've got a second cat!" So I went to pay the piper as it was. We brought them home and tried to keep them apart from Merlin for a time, but it was impossible and by 4 hours in it was all cats/kittens all over the apartment. Dave came home to find Tiger (whose name became Gracie due to 1- her M marking on her forhead (said to be the sign of Mohammed in legend) and 2- her absolute grace under the pressure of Dory on the crazy side and Merlin on the possessive "MY MOM AND DAD" side). and Dory racing about the apartment after each other or whatever moved. Since then, we have become a family, although I worry about brain damage in Dory's case. Reasons follow: falling off the couch onto her head, falling off the bed, falling off the cat tree while trying to get to the tip top and somehow kill Gracie.... do you see the pattern here? She's now almost 15 weeks and still as nutty as a fruitcake. She has her super goofy time, just like Gracie and Merlin (somedays) where it's absolutely essential to run as fast as possible where ever there is open ground and attack anything that moves (feet, Gracie, toys... even stationary ones, Gracie, Merlin, feet, legs, etc.) and throws a fit if Dave is gone and I need to leave the apartment for an appointment or whatever. Truly.... she sits on my foot, attacks my bag, cries, jumps on my clothes and won't let go... it's cute, but I feel like a bad parent. Sigh. Needless to say, it's been a LLOOOONNNGGG time since Dave or I had a kitten and it's like having a toddler. I love it. Although I have to find a way to stop her growing!!! She;s getting so big.... growing into her back legs (which has stopped some of the brain damage causing problems, thank God!) and getting smarter about what NO means, unless it has to do with the keyboard on Dave's computer or my laptop. I can't tell you how many msgs she has sent to friends. Usually in the form of 444444442wer7h;soe@ after which she somehow turns off the laptop entirely.

Point #3 answer in Suzannahstan: Kittens are psychotic but absolutely lovable and 5 is a perfect number for us.

I promise to update on the family soon and Erin, you fantastic woman, thanks for keeping me on my toes here! Otherwise, my allergy meds have kicked in and it's sleepy time!! If Dory will let me. Take care everyone and thanks for reading!!

A farewell to Alex...

I haven't posted this as soon as I had hoped to, mostly due to the fact that I didn't know quite how to put into words what I wanted and needed to say. I still don't but I need to do this so I can move forward, both here in Suzannahstan and in general. So here goes!

On June 2nd at 6am, Alexandria Egypt, Port City on the Nile (m.k.a. Alex) suffered a blood clot that moved into her spine and rendered her back legs and tail completely non-functioning. We (Dave and I.... and I can't say enough about Dave through this situation) took her to the U of M Vet Hospital because no where else was open and they diagnosed her. I think both Dave and I knew on the ride there that things were definitely not good but didn't say anything. I knew that she would never come home again, and I sat with her in the back seat by her carrier talking to her on the ride. When we arrived, there was the obvious paperwork and one of the nurses took her back to be looked at by one of the vets. I was fine until about 2 minutes after Dave finished the paperwork.

Alex had been mine since June 1992 when at 8 weeks old I found her in an ad posted in the newsletter for the company I had worked at, and we had been through almost everything, good and bad, together till the day she died. She was definitely a cat that believed that I was around to be there just for her and demanded my attention, loudly, on most occasions when she felt it was needed. Alex announced bedtimes, kept me company during late nights when i couldn't sleep and read, reminded both Dave and I that meals should always be on time and mostly was content to treat Emma (before she died in Oct. 09) and Merlin like the cats they were, not like the cat she was. As I write this it doesn't sound like Alex was as magnificent as she really was, but I can't seem to find the right words to describe her better. She was a fantastic cat.... regal, aloof when she wanted to be, talkative (to the point of absolute domination of the house) and loving in her own way, which suited me perfectly. To face losing her was something that I had thought about over the course of her life, and like most pet owners I think, dreaded what it would be like to not have her in my life.

As we sat in the waiting room and other people came in and left with their pets, I couldn't keep myself from crying. Dave came and hugged me and tried to keep me in a positive place, because we really didn't know what was going on. The doctor came out and took us to a room and confirmed that she had suffered a blood clot. She told us that there were things that they could try to do, but it would be a long road and Alex would be in pain and wouldn't necessarily gain the use of her legs, most cats don't. She told us the other option was to put Alex to sleep. She left us alone to discuss it, but the minute she said that any treatment would leave Alex in pain (something they had already given her a painkiller for), I knew what had to be done and I have no doubt that Dave did too. We were both very rational at that point and I don't remember crying when we made the decision. In fact we laughed a bit about something that I can't even recall, but i'm sure it had something to do with Alex, who we could hear in a room nearby, talking in her "I'm not sure what YOU think you're doing" voice.

They brought her to us in what they have set up as a quiet room that looks out on the grounds of the St. Paul campus, and I held her as both Dave and I talked to her for awhile. She had never been a lap kitty and definitely was never big on being held, and she tried to get out of my arms, even though she couldn't use her legs, which we knew was frustrating and scary for her. We laughed with each other remembering different "Alex moments" and Dave scratched her head and ears. We probably spent around 20 minutes just talking to her and trying to make things not so scary. She calmed down a bit (in Alex standards that was amazing in and of itself!) and just let us hold and pet her. When the doctor finally came in and administered the injections that would stop her heart, I knew the moment it happened. It was raining outside and as I felt her heart beat the last time, it seemed like the rain picked up and somehow even God felt her leave us. We held her and cried for a little bit, but knew that she wasn't with us anymore and soon after gave her body to the doctor for cremation. We have used cremation with both cats that Dave and I had lost before and their ashes are in wooden urns that have room for pictures. I know that it's been the easiest way for us to deal with their losses and feel like they aren't so far away. Although, I still haven't found the best picture for Alex's urn.... I'm looking. But she is back home, in a sense.

So, why share all this? I don't know.... well, it is my blog... and I guess I knew that this would somehow be part of my goodbye to her. Even though she will live in my heart forever. Luckily I had taken some video of her one night when I was between books and it's here if you'd like to see the queen "A" in her "natural environment".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHE2QSRvOm4

MIA

Just wanted to post a short note apologizing for my MIA status. I will be making a few entries this week, but time runs short right now, as cleaning the apartment (those of you who have visited should know that the dining room is about to be tackled) which sounds like a weekly thing, but ours is in a totally different realm since some things haven't been touched since we moved in 3 years ago. Many would say then throw all of it away, but we don't work on that principle and thus today begins the great dining room migration of 2010!! Wish me luck :). And Erin, you get a special shout out for reading this and letting me know.... you rule... in fact, you rock harder than one hand can manage! (Dave told me about the rock band incident lol) Have a groovy Monday everyone!!! Suz

Summer

And so it seems that summer has begun. Now I don't want to be blamed if the temperature plummets...again. But it feels like it's the season. The sun shines, the pollen floats, the cats lay in the sunshine as if it was the most perfect and comfortable place in the world and the grass gets cut (although from what i've heard from Dave's mom, it's more like hacking through a jungle...3 weeks away can do that lol). And even though my allergies are going crazy, I LOVE IT!! YEA SUMMER! WELCOME TO MINNESOTA!!!

The pools will open soon and I should probably start to work on my tan... this may mean the evil of tanning beds. But the way a tan feels makes all the difference in the world. Photo-therapy at its best!! The inevitable choice... skin cancer (maybe) or feeling absolutely phenomenal?? What to do?? What to do?? Sigh..... the tanning beds it is. At least I won't look like Snookie.... ugh!!! That bizarre orange look is so scary.... but luckily i can keep myself from appearing as though i've been attacked by an orange!

Happy Summer everybody!!!! I look forward to our adventures!

One of many things I don't understand...

First off, let me say that my grandma was an amazing woman. She married my grandpa when she was around her early 20's if not sooner (after having seen her at a dance and telling his friends that she was the woman he would marry, they were married within less than 6 weeks). She helped him work the farm they lived on, went through 3 very hard pregnancies and went on to be one of the 10 greatest people who ever lived... and that's not just because she was my grandma. Maybe something to do with the Bing cherry dumplings at Christmas and the brownies prepared lovingly just for me every weekend.... but I would argue that there is SOOOO much more. The point of this is that part of this brilliant woman was her belief, which she was fantastically good to share, that God is God, no matter what the name is.... Allah, the enlightenment sought by Buddha, whatever the name... I have to say that as I grew up Catholic (as did she) this wasn't something that anyone else ever even touched upon during my education (both secular and non). I love her tremendously for sharing this belief with me. And I have to say that since I've grown up in my faith and knowledge base I have to say that I include the universe itself in what or who God is.

So, having said that. I don't really understand why there is so much of a rivalry between faith and technology. I recently watched "Contact" which states in such a phenomenal way this rivalry and at its conclusion blames the primary character Ellie for having faith in something that she can not prove, which is also the thing which held her back during an earlier part of the film. Many people who I know, especially the atheists ask me to prove that God exists. And my lack of appropriate proof for the is the reason they say they continue not to believe. I must be lucky enough to see God all around. And even though this may sound trite, I see God in the sunrise, the beauty of the landscape, the love that I feel from those around me, and most importantly to this entry, in the things that science has brought us.

How can God not be seen in the vaccines that save children from polio? The MRI scans that can show a tumor that wouldn't be seen by an x-ray for what becomes valuable time to the person who has it? Granted, technology isn't always this helpful. Who was ever really aided by an ICBM? But I think that speaks more to the human population than technology itself. So I don't understand why there has to be a gap between faith and science. Maybe as we advance as a species the gap will close and neither science or faith will be looked upon as a "bad" thing. Maybe by then we can stop fighting about who God really is too. Ah, the wishes of a dreamer.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all Mom's out there... especially Jo (Thanks for always being there!), Marilyn and Holly (who get to spend the day together somewhere in world), Angel, Sonya and Joyt (the Gray house mom's), Linnea, Shannon and Erin (the Dietrich mom's) and last but certainly not least, Annie and Dawn (the Schwartz mom's). I love you all and feel SO blessed to have you as part of my life! Please hug your munchkins (yes, even the big ones) for me and enjoy your day!! You deserve it!!!

P.S. As a shout out... Thad gets a mention too, for being a Mr. Mom while Holly was working and getting ready for the current excursion out into the world! You rock as a mom!!! But if I ever hear a certain nickname again.... (regarding petals) this shout out can be revoked... just so you know!! :)

P.S.#2 Should we all watch "Steel Magnolias" together later on?? Just a thought.

Twitter..... and my sleep number bed's fascination with that Bieber kid

Long, long ago, I started a twitter account. It sat for quite awhile before I used it for anything much. But after Craig Ferguson (The Late Late Show on CBS) started his own account, I decided to see what he was tweeting about and then started following both friends and celebrities alike. Since then I have found that twitter is addictive! The ability to comment on random thoughts by people like Stephen Fry, Nathan Fillion, my dear friend Corey and many many more is almost like being a part of their world without the horrible consequence of CSS (Celebrity Spaz Syndrome).

For those of you who don't know about CSS, imagine me (if you know me... otherwise imagine someone friendly and excitable, a human labrador retriever if you will?) meeting someone who I admire, like Dave Foley. This is what CSS does.... "Oh my God! You were so awesome tonight!!! You know what? My dentist looks JUST like you!! And you know what else??? His wife's name is LISA!!! Isn't that hysterical???" Mr. Foley, who has just finished a Kids in the Hall show is gracious enough not to spray me with mace and after giving me an autograph says "Um, thank you?" and by the grace of God, Dave (my Dave) pulls me away from Mr. Foley. This is the horror of CSS, for both celebrities and myself (or those like me) who realize what happened afterwards. Twitter makes this almost impossible... I say almost because I have seen it with my own eyes, tweeted by my own fingers... sigh.

So now that I have my 21 followers (yeah, who knew?) and my short list of 30 odd followees (?), I can comment to my hearts content in 140 characters on things that I wouldn't use this space for. A strange thought now occurs... How many people really want to know or care what I think??? Hmm, I guess if you're reading this or are following me on twitter (suzannah_mpls), then you do.

Now for the sleep number beds' fascination with Justin Bieber. Twitter has a sort of hot list of topics and Mr. B is ALWAYS on it!!!! Which is creepy to me, because I find him creepy..... what can I say. Someone buy the kid a barrette or something. That hair cut is strange and what's gonna happen when he hits puberty??? Will it be like the Brady Bunch episode??? ANYWAYS... So the other morning, around 4, when I usually find myself awake and therefore check to see what happened to all of those followees on the west coast during the night, I see that Bieber is NOT on the popular topics... I celebrate by notating it in a tweet! At which point my sleep number bed ADJUSTS ITSELF to a completely uncomfortable setting. So I tweet about this. IT HAPPENS AGAIN ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BED. What is going on I wonder??? So I make a sort of Bieber tweet apology and reset my bed. All is well.... UNTIL the next time I see the hair flipping young singer's name back on the popular topics list and comment ... Guess what happens??? THAT'S RIGHT!! MY BED ADJUSTS itself again!! I reset it but now don't comment on the flippy haired kid while in bed, which is hard, because its way too easy to tweet at 4am. Lately though, i've decided that Bieber has a Robot Fan Army which keeps him in the popular topics on twitter. But that's just me.

Being a different kind of parent

Just a warning, this could be considered sappy.... but it's my blog, so sappy is alright.

So, since I was about 5 years old there have been animals of one kind or another in my home and in my life. First was Kitty (real original I know, but it was my Mom's choice) who had been the runt of the litter and was thus rescued. I cant give you any more than the names of the ones that followed, because they came to us via strange paths, but Buck, Smokey, Cupcake (strangest path, from Norwalk, California to Omaha via the seat next to me on American Airlines, lured into my 9 year old arms with tuna from under a car in Norwalk) and Munchkin (aka the cat i called Monkey, with permanent PMS). But these were my Mom's pets more than mine. She paid their vet bills, fed them most of the time, scooped the poop and changed the litter. It wasn't until 199 that I started my own journey as a pet parent.

I was working at Boys' Town right out of university and thought I would work there until I retired, since I had been a resident and graduate of BT and loved my time there when I was in high school. Working there was a COMPLETELY different set of experiences, rules and obstacles which ended in me losing my job due to what my evil harpy of a boss called "a lack of professionalism and poor judgement". (Just to set the record straight, she had been working at BT when I was a resident and had been an evil harpy then too.) However, about 2 months after I started working, there was a notice in the company newsletter about an employee who had a 6 week old kitten that needed a home. This kitten became my Alex (full name: Alexandria Egypt, Port city on the Nile.. what? She looked Egyptian and Cleopatra was so overdone!!). Alex and I have had many adventures including 8 moves, the addition of Emma (full name: Somalia of Omaha, even though she never lived in Omaha for even a day) in 1995 and the inevitable addition of Dave and Merlin (in 1996), and finally the welcoming of Solo (who was going to be put down because of an idiot who worked at my final job at Hammer Residences) in 2001. So they became our kids for lack of a better term, because what I have felt for these cats, especially those who I have lost, is an unconditional love that most non-pet owners find strange, and only real pet lovers understand.

When Solo and Em died I felt like a huge part of me died and I think that Dave felt the a lot of the same feelings. Solo's journey to the other side was longer than Em's, which was so fast that it felt almost blurred. And over the past few weeks we ALMOST lost Alex. It was far and away some of the worst days that I have ever endured. Talk of cancer, when and if to stop treatment, heart problems, kidney failure... (for what turned out to be some major constipation as well as severe dehydration for reasons still unknown) and numerous visits to our fantastic vet, culminating in a last visit with a fairly clean bill of health for an 18 year old total diva kitty. As she got better slowly through the days, I had times of being giddy with joy at the simplest things, like Alex going up in her tree, jumping on my bed, eating an entire bowl of food and last but certainly not least yelling at me and everybody she sees (it is a charming trait, I swear!) I also had the horrible sleepless nights just watching to make sure she was breathing, administering sub-cutaneous fluids (a 2 person job if there ever was one) and just making sure she was warm and comfortable. It felt like weeks and we're still all enjoying the thrill of sub-cue fluids, medications and checking the litter box for "deposits"...

So I guess the point of this post is that even those of us who don't have human kids are still parents to furry kids. Because I love these animals that God has led into my life and would sacrifice anything to help them any way I knew how. The past days and weeks were about making decisions with respect to what to sacrifice and what would be enough. This is something that I wish no parent ever has to go through, ever. But I know all too many do, with human children and non-human children alike. My hope is that God will help us to be the best parents that we can be to the children that we have and help us with the support we need in times of crisis and indecision. Love and blessings upon all parents and children, everywhere, how, and when.

Real Time.... Too Fat to Fight

Watching the Real Time episode from this past week. Bill does an excellent commentary on what the U.S. Army's new Fitness Report... It seems that the thing that is keeping folks from joining the Army is weight (27%). I, being one of those overweight people who wouldn't be able to serve (well, that's one reason), actually find this not surprising. The interesting part of the discussion was the picture that was shown from the early days of the Barnum and Bailey's Freak show. It showed "the fat man".. who really looked like someone who you can find almost anywhere these days... probably even if you looked at me. Since I don't have a really accurate self image, its possible that I look exactly like this one time freak show "fat man". On the flip side, i happen to live in Minneapolis... one of the healthiest cities in the U.S. I am working towards losing weight and have successfully lost over 50 pounds. The point is that it was a real wake up call to me about how we really live compared to 100 years ago. But with all the information out there about how and what we eat now it really shouldn't have been as surprising. I've read Pollan, watched "Food, Inc. and am choosy about what I put in my body, especially now that i'm getting older and that hasn't always been the case. So if you get a chance to look around the web... go to http://www.neatorama.com/2010/04/19/freak-show-fat/ and you can see the picture that Bill showed on his Real Time episode this past weekend. Here's love for you all and especially for my favorite family in Tashkent, who just got bigger by one for at least a few weeks! (bigger in Tashkent... not in general)

Cleansing the system... retraining the palate.

So I have a fantastically funny friend, who just finished a cleanse, but during the cleanse sent me the following text... "I just had a pot of coffee, but didn't drink it. Discuss." For those of you who don't have any fun knowledge of cleanses, what he meant was that he'd just given himself a coffee enema. I've been told that it's invigorating. But I'm not trying it.... my response to his text (fyi) was "Hot coffee in between hot crossed buns?" No apologies will be made for this, he laughed and that's what's important. He also was required to eat all his meals (consisting of vegetable soups and fresh made juices) in liquid form, meaning he could not CHEW anything. I've also had friends who've tried numerous bizarre juice concoctions for days and days on end with nothing else to take in besides plain or even distilled water.

My point in all this is that the things we do to "cleanse" ourselves of the "toxins" in out bodies seems to be goofy in a way that I would have never 20 years ago even considered. Even just 10 years ago, the idea of any enema made me shudder, ugh... but now I'm older.... and the enema can be a useful tool when needed. But ugh, don't want to need one... EVER AGAIN!!! Too much information? Sorry.

What I had the opportunity to do when I did a cleanse was very different from my friends enema or weird beverage heavy regimen. I used a program (whose name I will give if asked) that required me to use a powder at least twice daily to make a "shake" along with fresh fruit juices and frozen fruits and vegetables, eat all the fresh veggies I could lay my hands on (in an almost 2:1 ratio with fresh fruits and forgo anything dairy or processed in any way. I could include lean proteins on the 11th day of the 21 day program. There were also a truly baffling number of capsules to take each day along with the shakes and fresh veggie filled meals. And of course water, water, water!

The first few days were a struggle... O.K. by day 3 I was ready to kill for anything even remotely processed, especially in a bakery! But I had awesome support around me and made it to day 4, when it was like I had been born again with a new palate when it came to the things that I craved and ate. During the 21 days I slowly lost pounds (weighing myself everyday, religiously) and found a new love of vegetables... especially GREEN vegetables. I still preferred them raw to cooked (yes Holly, still difficult), but I couldn't get enough of them. And when the program was over I continued to eat well...BY CHOICE! I shunned dressings and cheeses on salads to my friends surprise, I ordered grilled (eek) FISH even and enjoyed it. I lost 30 pounds total and felt awesome and as long as I kept away from the processed foods that had for so long run my diet, I continued to lose weight...consistently.

Sadly the diet soda, the occasional meal replacement bar, the processed foods overtook my palate again. But I know that it's possible to live and eat ENJOYABLY without the processed, fast-food, 'single serving', 'pre-portion controlled' (pardon my use of the word) crap that most of us use every day! So, I'm on a mission. A mission to cleanse my system and retrain my palate once again. I hereby promise not to get overly preachy about it here and only update occasionally how things are going. Wish me luck! Thanks in advance!!!

P.S. My dear enema using friend after doing another week of his "cleanse" admitted that he was happy with his results.... well, except for those last 5 pounds. LOL

A thought about Mothers... on a special birthday

What is it about a mother that can in a single day help you feel so many different emotions?

Is it the care they show by calling (every day in some cases) that can be comforting, funny, overwhelming, absolutely necessary, loving and even somewhat difficult?

Is it the advice that they give that, asked for or not, is sometimes so right on the nose it feels like she really does know everything?

Is it the sacrifices that they make in all sorts of little ways that we never see that make us humbled when we think back on them... even if it were just yesterday?

Is it the friendship that comes with unconditional love that lets us see that although we may have grown up enough to become a friend, we will never stop being their own?

I think that it's these things and more. And as Mother's Day approaches I thought that I'd put my views on the matter out to the world. I LOVE YOU MOM!!!

Also, Happy Birthday Mom. Your hope for me is the light that shines brightest on the days that are darkest. I can never thank you enough for the love that you've taught and shown me, the grace that helps me be a better person and the sacrifices that you've made, especially the ones that were the ones I fought so hard against.

WELCOME!!!

I must say that starting a blog is something that seems very trendy, and I admit that I am NOT one of those trendy folks. HOWEVER... I love to read, so why not start to write? That's the reason for Suzannahstan. So, Welcome :) and i'll get back in a few days to show y'all what the culture is like here. Take care and be good to one another!