Christmas...

WOW!!! Christmas is only a few days away! Where has the time gone? I feel bloated because I have not exercised. We have been visiting family and will be visiting more as well as having one niece for a couple of nights this week. I will get here tomorrow (22nd) and she will be with us until we take her home on Christmas Eve. It is SO exciting to think about having a kid in the house on Christmas Eve morning! R is 10 and so much fun! She is a wonderfully conscientous girl and we have been having fun putting up decorations in anticipation of her arrival. We also have a baby nephew turning ONE on Thursday! They grow up WAY too fast. I know that sometimes I still get that "twinge" of wanting a baby of our own, but I also realize that is just not in the cards for us. I am so very grateful, however, to have 2 nieces and 3 nephews to love and help care for. Thank God for sisters who "share" their children!

Happy Holidays!

It has been AWHILE

Well, nobody reads this anyway, but it has been almost a year since my last post. For one thing, my friend who was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer in my last post is doing VERY well. She is cancer free and is moving to NC soon with her partner. I wish them the best. The baby nephews arrived in December and January. Yes, the ? in my last post oh so long ago turned out to be a boy. He was born early and had to spend some time in the hospital, but both guys are doing well and growing like little weeds. I have also changed jobs. Main jobs anyway. I am still helping my old boss with some stuff as supplemental income which will be nice, but a new day job. It's pretty cool with more people and better benefits. I like it. Personal life is good. I am still quite in love with my wonderful S. We still have 5 critters.... The puppies are grown and they are sweet 85% of the time. I just love them! What can I say? I am busier than a one-armed paper hanger, but maybe some blogging will be good for me. Maybe one of these days I will even get a reader!!!!

WOOT!

Okay... day two of the "new and improved morning routine" started off well. We really did not want to get out of the nice, comfy bed, but we did it anyway. I cannot believe that my legs are actually a little sore from a 20 minute walk. How PATHETIC is that? So.. my motivation to get in shape is definitely increasing. We made it through last night really well with our houseguests. In fact, we did not hear them leave at 3:45 this morning. I forgot to mention yesterday that we are keeping A's cats until she gets settled in a place up in Indiana. I don't think it will be very bad and you have already read how much we love animals. They have their own room to stay in with a blanket that smells like their momma and a cat tree to lie in and look out at the world. Almost like semi-luxury hotel accomodations for cats!

That's about all I have to add right now. Just keep sending positive motivation vibes that S and I can continue to exercise our way into a healthier way of life!

Busy... Active... Whatever you want to call it.

Hey! I know that I am new to blogging anyway, but WOW life has really been chugging along lately. I feel like if I don't hold on tight, I will just fall right out of it. Anyway, to update... our friend A, who has a baby L, is moving away to the midwest. I haven't been able to see them as much as I would like, but you know when you meet someone and there is just that instant connection, you know that you will always be friends. I mean, seriously... we had not seen her in months, but she has just fit right into our lives over the past two weeks including spending the night with us tonight before leaving tomorrow for her new home. I love LOVE her little girl, L. I was birth coach during the pregnancy so I feel a special attachment to her anyway, but when that little one looks at me and smiles, or reaches for me, or gives me a big hug... I MELT. I have to admit.. I LOVE KIDS. I used to think that I would make a great mother... and I might.. but I will never find out. Call me selfish... but I like playing with them and then giving them back. I have 2 nieces- ages 13 and 9, one nephew- to be 12 in a few weeks PLUS another nephew as well as a ? due this winter. Yep... both of my sisters are having babies. I think that is cool. And I will get to be the cool aunt that spoils them all. S and I took the oldest niece shopping for school clothes the other day. It was REALLY fun!! The niece got some cool clothes plus some shoes she really wanted. It is a day I will always look to and I hope she does as well. Also, we have had a friend that has been really sick in the hospital. Thank GOD she is doing so much better because we ALMOST lost her and that would have been awful.

On a more positive note, S and I are starting a new morning routine. I really hope it lasts and I am going to do my best to stick with it. Usually, I get up at 5:30, take my shower, and then get S up. We go downstairs, watch the news, drink coffee, play with the dogs, etc. and then I get ready for work, we pray, I leave. Well, this morning, we BOTH got up at 5:00 am, put on our workout clothes, had a smoothie made from juice, fruit, and yogurt, then went for a 20 minutes walk. It felt NICE out this morning. It was dark, but the streetlights were on. We came back home, then had coffee and did our readings. I took a shower and got dressed while she took a quick spin on her bike, then we prayed and I left. It was a nice morning and accomplished with just getting up thirty minutes earlier. We are starting slow, but will hopefully pick up the pace. I think it will be fun!!!!!

A lot can happen in a year...

One year ago, S and I came home from work to find that the cat we had been feeding outside had given birth to FIVE kittens. She had them in a shed two doors down on an old tarp. Of course we could not let them stay there so we brought them to our house. Now.. keep in mind we were already feeding the 3 other kittens she had in the spring as well as a cat of our own AND a dog. But... what can you do? We could not let them die. So... we brought them home and momma kitty was SO good. She nursed all 5 and they were SO cute!!! We kind of began to stress over what to do when they got bigger, but we decided to pray about it and release it into God's hands. Wouldn't you know that we managed to place all 5 of them in good homes where we know they are loved. One of them lives at our church so we can even see her from time to time. It's amazing to think of how much can happen in one year's time. It is also amazing to think that the power of release is one of the most precious powers to practice and treasure. I know some people think that God could not possible care about us, or they don't believe because they cannot see Him. S and I have both learned that what is really happening is that humand are control freaks. We try to take care of it ourselves instead of releasing control to our higher power. It works! I can attest! I really did not mean to preach a sermon, but this was on my mind today.

Okay then...

Well... here I am... entering into the world of blogging. I have been reading and lurking on blogs for a couple of years now. I have been told that I ought to start one and I just continued to blow it off. I mean.. I don't have kids, we are not TTC so why would someone want to read anything I write? We DO, however have 5 pets. That definitely sparks things a bit. I live with my partner, S, in Central Arkansas. We are the pretty typical lesbian couple in that we attract stray animals and feel the need to rescue them. With the exception of our two pomeranian puppies, all of our animals are rescues that ended up on our doorstep. In the year 2009, we rescued and found homes for 7 kittens, which means in our little rent house at the time, we had 10 cats... TEN! I'm not going to go all descriptive right now. I think I will just introduce our critters one post at a time. Not everything will be about pets, I promise... just a way to get started.

J