Kitty at My Foot and I Wanna Touch It

So hear me out.

I grew up with many types of animals in my childhood, from fish, hamsters, guinea pigs, dogs and don't forget the countless tadpoles I'd collect during my summers at the lake cabin.

But.... I've never had a cat and especially no experience with a 13 week old kitten.

Mom's allergic and I'd taken care of older cats when their owners were on vacation, but they never wanted to interact with me.

At first I thought these cats were judging my cold 18-21 year old soul, but then realized that cats are happy to contemplate life on their own while batting away at feathers and catnip-laced mice.

Well that Holly girl of ours, she's a different animal.

Now that we've had her cute little face around for three weeks, how's she adapting?

1. She's Crazy

The most common noise we hear in the house is "th-thump-tha-thump-th-thump-thump". The pitter patter of her little paws is music against our hardwood floors and creates so much distraction from the everyday stresses.

2. She's Cuddly

Kitten, she is - so there's plenty of playtime going on in this house, but when she's tired she has no hesitation to come up to Dan and me to snuggle, and will even roll herself into a blanket to get an extra heater running with that motor-purr of hers.

3. She's Pensive

This girl, she's a damn philosopher. Look at her so casually looking out the window. Then you see the left corner of the image and she's really just watching me and that big scary camera of mine and wondering why it's been following her around.

4. She's Jams

A perfect photo followed by a perfect edit job by my brother and Holly is a legend.

Strapless Hello Kitty guitar while learning how to play Kitty like a boss.

5. As if it were any surprise.... She's going to be spoiled, hard!

Sleeping in Dan's lap with those big beautiful eyes, he gets all of the ladies to fall for him doesn't he?

I love this new addition to the family and I can't wait to watch my furry daughter grow up into a strong, independent, mysterious, curious and impenetrable goddess, just like her mother.

Happy Weekend!

Super Weekend

Boy am I stuffed from the Super Bowl and a super weekend. I mean look at this breakfast!

Dan and I invited a few friends over to watch the big game and show them what we'd done with the place. We were quite happy with an intimate group of only four so that we could make sure everyone was comfortable, had enough food and that there were plenty of Otto's leftovers wouldn't overwhelm Tiger in his first week home with us.

Brooke was solo for the weekend with Brad on special assignment in New Orleans, so we were happy to adopt her. We were also thrilled that she brought the most wonderful fresh veggie salsa to share with us. I must have that recipe and I'd recommend you follow her now because I assume she will be sharing it soon. Corn, avocado, black beans, peppers, tomatoes...drool. The perfect mix that you can make in big batches and keep fresh for an entire week and never get sick of it.

We wanted SF to win, but overall we were happy about the mid-game comeback that had us on the edge of our seats for the second half. The puppy bowl was, however, just how I was hoping it would be.

Dan and I did a thorough clean-up of the house and I'm thrilled with the results. We have committed to doing it more than just when company will be coming over and I think it will be a big step in getting us feeling more relaxed when we get home from a long day of work. We also printed out the sold out game "Cards Against Humanity" and brought it to an all-genders welcome baby shower for a friend of ours who is due at the end of the month. Tears, laughs and jaw dropping is inevitable and we can't wait to see how mom and dad react when we pull the game out with Matt home in March. 

This weekend was also an excellent opportunity for bonding time with Tiger. Dan and I proved how much we want the best for our boy and spent an hour in a PetSmart Saturday evening before they closed selecting the perfect accents for his home. He's over the moon about his heater, a sweet skull and an upcycled bowl that was previously used for popcorn, chips and fruit salads.

We realized this past week who he resembled... #GetItFromMyMama:

#RunChat: I'm happy to have 10 miles already under my belt for the month and plan to rack up some more this evening. Tomorrow will be a hectic day at work as most Mondays are, and I'll be happy to decompress and prepare for the next. I made sure to pack a great lunch, had an extra cup of coffee and hugged my sweetheart first thing when the alarm went off.

Happy Monday, all!

<3 JE

Throwback Thursday: Growing Family

I am so thrilled to announce Dan and I's careful decision to adopt... a Betta Fish! We are happy to welcome a new family member into the home and especially to provide my mom with her first shot at being a grandmother.

World, meet Tiger "Master" Betta:

Dan and I have been visiting Woodstock's Animal Crossing almost every other day to see if they had any new Betta fish come in that we'd be able to adopt. (shop local!) Although we've seen a few over the weeks, none of them caught our eye like this handsome little man. Dan and I were both immediately drawn to his beautiful face that only a mother could love and gorgeous color. It didn't hurt that his color also matches our living / dining room as well as being one of Dan's favorite colors: Sunday Red.

We may not have done all of our research before adopting Tiger, but we are studying Betta blogs diligently to understand the best type of environment, food, water temperature and threadcount preference cleaning schedule to provide him with a long and happy life as our adopted son. We will never allow him to grow up and enter into Betta Fight Club - he's got too bright of a future for that.

Our family had quite the full house of non-humans when I was growing up - my brother(I kid!), Blazer girl, Miss Piggy, Mr. Pig or Lily (guinea pigs), Bugs Bunny, Sahara (hamster), Simba, Nala, Griffey, Griffey II, Simba II, Nala II (Goldfish I can remember) and I'm sure a few more goldfish that my parents cleverly flushed and replaced before I had the chance to realize they'd gone belly up in their tank or were caught in the filter.

Today's Throwback Thursday is brought to you by the four legged and finned family members that depend on us to keep their lives full of attention, nourishment and well being.

<3 JE