A Memorial, A Tribute

Animals steal my heart in so many ways. I believe the reason for this is because of the innocence with which an animal regards a person once it begins trusting its human. I've had many different pets in my life, and each of them bring so much joy to me and tug on my heart viciously. So, it is with great sadness that I write this entry. A tragedy happened to two of my sweet wonderful sugar gliders on Friday night. But I don't want this entry to be all about the tragedy. I want to use this entry as a tribute for two of the most special little critters that ever scampered their way into my heart. So, I'll start at the beginning. I could pepper pictures of all my gliders throughout this story, but this is about the two that I will forever miss, Mika and Gadget.

My love of sugar gliders is all Jennifer Hester's fault (Cliff's sister). I had heard of sugar gliders before and seen pictures, but one night when we were having dinner with Cliff's family, Jennifer started talking about seeing "sugar bears" at the mall. No doubt, it was a Pocket Pals kiosk where the merchants were trying to sell a few of their remaining joeys. But she mentioned it at dinner and then the conversation went on. Meanwhile, in Cliff's head, he began pondering what these little animals were.

The next day, he asked me what they were called, and I knew what he was doing: Googling all he could find about sugar gliders. Truthfully, so was I. And that night when I asked him about the research, he announced that he really wanted to get one, and of course, so did I.

We looked around on the internet to see what is recommended when acquiring a sugar glider. We found a couple of breeders in state, but the animal rescuer in me thought maybe we should give a home to gliders that were being rehomed. We knew we wanted two as our research said they work better with buddies. And after an internet search, we found a male and female glider who would become our new pets. Ironically, I never looked on Craigslist for a sugar glider, even though that's my typical go-to site for animals that need new homes. I probably could have found a sugar glider in our area had I looked at Craigslist, but apparently, we were meant to travel to get gliders about two hours away from us.

So, on a lovely Saturday in July 2011 we made our journey. There we found our beautiful Mika and her mate Jack.

Mika, chilling in her bag on the trip home

I couldn't wait to see my first glimpse of a sugar glider up close. Being nocturnal creatures, I wasn't sure if I would even get to see them while the sun was shining. But after a little bit of prodding, up popped a little head with big, old doe eyes. She blinked at me, and she had the prettiest little white face. She also immediately nipped me because she didn't know who this big strange human was who had just awoken her from her beauty rest. I didn't care. After looking at those doe eyes and that sweet little white face, I was hooked. I couldn't wait to get her and Jack home.

So, we trekked back to Raleigh with all the necessary supplies we would need as new sugar glider owners. When we got home, the dogs were very curious about what we had in the yellow bag. I kept the bag out of reach, but close enough so they could smell it. Immediately, this sharp sound erupted from the bag. It was Mika, crabbing at the dogs to get away from her. 

We immediately set up the cage, and then we had to wait for the sleepy heads to wake up and let us look at them. Once they awoke from their day-slumber, we could tell Jack is the adventurer. Mika was more of a methodical glider, walking slowly but with purpose. When it was time to feed them, I felt the best way for us, the new humans, to bond with them would be to hand feed them their worms. Jack gobbled his worms with gusto, but Mika took her time. 

Mika, exploring my recliner

She was hanging out on the side of the cage, and I started looking at her belly because I was curious about the female pouches. I gently touched her belly, and the pouch opened a bit. What in the world! I could see something in her pouch! At that moment, I was sure Mika was a mommy, nursing her babies in her pouch.

A trip to the vet confirmed that she was quite big with two joeys inside her pouch. While we were thrilled to hear our little family was growing, we weren't really prepared for it. So, the research began again. We got Jack fixed, and we started seeing what we needed to do to ensure the joeys were going to be healthy. We gave Mika some extra worms and crickets to make sure she had enough protein. But really, the babies were so far along, it was just a matter of waiting for them to come out of pouch.

During this wait time, we learned more about Mika's personality. She was more reserved than her mate, and sometimes she would bite, a bit harder than I liked. But knowing she had her babies, I believed that she was in protection mode and still wasn't very trusting of her new humans, although it seemed like we were gaining her trust.

Here's a little story I'll never forget about Mika. One night we put Mika and Jack in a large carrier so that we could bring them upstairs with us. Jack had just had his neuter, so we were trying to keep him calm. That meant no jumping around the curtains and tree we had in their special room. But we wanted them to be near us as we went upstairs, so we put them in a large crate I had. We had underestimated just how small these guys are. We knew they couldn't get through the bars of the crate, but since this particular crate was collapsible, there was an opening near the top of the crate where the door snaps to the walls. We had both dozed off a little while we were watching TV. The next thing I know Cliff is saying "We have a situation!" I looked up, and Mika was crawling up his leg. With joeys in pouch, that little scamp had jumped from the carrier we had on the table across from the bed and landed on Cliff. It was quite a surprise, but it was also a clue that she was starting to trust us. She had come to Cliff rather than scampering off somewhere else and hiding.

Mika, at the base of the tree in her room

Very soon, we began to see an odd sight. Legs, arms and tails began protruding from Mika's belly. The babies were getting too big for her pouch, and we knew soon they would come out to play. It was quite funny to see Mika struggle with these big babies. She would walk a few steps, then bend over and begin shoving body parts back inside her pouch, then walk a few steps and repeat. The experience of watching a mother glider go through all these steps for a joey is very intriguing. I feel very fortunate that we got to witness all these different stages.

It wasn't long after the body parts began emerging that the babies began to venture out too. The first time I saw the babies out of pouch, I had taken the gliders to the vet for a check up. When they were trying to get one of the adults out of their bag, there was a baby clinging to the blanket. I squealed in delight, and I believe it shocked the vet tech. But I didn't care. It was the first time I got to see the fragile little babies. They weren't coming out in the cage yet because their eyes were still closed, but we got to get glimpses of them in their bag. I even got to hold them while they still had their eyes closed. And once we held them, we knew we had a white face and a stripe face, just like mom and pop. I had already picked out names long before we even got Mika and Jack. They would be Gizmo (aka, Gizzy-magoo) and Gadget (aka, Gadgy). We dubbed the white face Gizzy and the stripe face Gadget. And just like mom and pop, Gadget was the more adventurous of the two.

Gadget, before her eyes are even open

It was quite the adventure getting these babies used to us. But since they had come out of the pouch into our home, it didn't take long for them to begin trusting us. And soon, they would jump to us from the cage door the moment we opened the cage. I was so inspired by these little rascals, that I wrote a short story about my shy glider Gizzy and how her sister Gadget helped her come out of her shell. Gadget was so special. I hate to play favorites, but there's no doubt that Gadget became mine and Cliff's favorite glider. She always wanted to be with us, and she would jump from me to Cliff or from Cliff to me without a care in the world. The sweetest moments for me were when I would be upstairs for glider playtime sitting in the easy chair. Gadget often would hang out nearby and come over to lick my ears, face, hands, feet...whatever exposed body part struck her fancy. She was very affectionate, and she definitely had Cliff and me wrapped around her tiny little paw.

Gadget was always the littlest one

If ever there would be a therapy glider, Gadget could have been that glider. She was very gentle and very friendly. When my mom came up to help my little sister move in for college, Gadget accompanied me for the move in. She didn't do much heavy lifting, of course. But she was my little mascot, and my mom was just floored by how adorable she was. Hey, I get my animal loving honest...my mom is almost as bad as me. Recently, mom was asking me for pictures of the gliders to show to her co-workers. I smiled a little smugly knowing that my Gadget had made such a good impression on her.

Gadget, in her normal spot...on my arm

But when there is so much joy in your life, there must also be pain...sometimes devastating pain. And when tragedy happens to the ones you love, there are so many mixed emotions: sadness, guilt, regret, remorse. And sometimes the pain of my heart is so amplified that I can barely get my breath.

So, now I must share the tragedy, the part that I feel such shame, for which I'm so sorry and over which I cannot forgive myself.

Enter Dinka, the worst mistake I have ever made. Why I thought I needed to bring a new ferret into the home, I'll never know. I still had Bebe, but I knew her days were very limited. So we got a new kit, I suppose hoping that would help with the pain we would feel when Bebe finally left us. Unknowingly, we ended her life early by getting Dinka. He gave her some common kit disease, and her poor weakened immune system could not handle it. So, one of our pets passed due to our decision to bring Dinka home.

I won't spend too much time on Dinka, because this is about my beautiful sweet gliders. But a quick overview is that Dinka was not like any other ferret I've had. I really believe he was untrainable. He seemed to like us, but he was constantly biting us and scratching us. I never knew how dangerous he really was.

One night, we were gathering the gliders in their playroom to take them downstairs for dinner time. We almost had them all, but we were still missing Mika. I was in my bedroom for some reason, and suddenly I heard this horrible sound of a glider screaming and Cliff shouting "Dinka, no!" I ran to the glider room, and Dinka had Mika in his mouth with his teeth clamped hard. Cliff was holding Dinka, and I put my hand around Mika to try to loosen her from his grip. We eventually got them apart, and we took Mika to the vet the next day to make sure there was no damage we couldn't see. The vet gave her a clean bill of health, but that incident should have been our clue to get rid of Dinka. Instead, we ignored this very major warning sign, and the penalty for ignoring it is the sorrow I now feel.

Friday night (12/14/12), Cliff and I were having a really good night. In spite of the tragic events in Connecticut, we were enjoying our evening. The work week was over, and we were looking forward to our weekend. I had gotten some cookies for Cliff, and I really wanted to get them baking for him. He asked if we were taking the gliders up. I hesitated for a second thinking that we could wait and take them up Saturday night. But I relented and said he could take them up and let them wake up and we would go up in a little while to play with them. There had been many nights where we would take them up, and they wouldn't come out of their bag. So, we had started taking them up and leaving them in their room for a bit to wake up and start playing, which is more fun for us when we join them.

There are a lot of "should ofs" I've been going through. Hindsight is 20/20 for a reason, but it doesn't bring back the ones you love. After about 30 minutes, Cliff headed upstairs to be with the gliders while I finished up something on my computer. He immediately came back down carrying Dinka. He said "I found him in the glider room, and I only see two gliders." It didn't register for me. I think my initial thought was "Dinka is such a rascal." We don't let Dinka around the gliders because of the interaction he had with Mika. But he was hiding in the glider room when we took them up, and we didn't know he was in there.

Cliff went back up to the glider room, and a few moments later he came back with Jack on his shoulder and Mika in his hand. Mika was gone. In that 30 minutes, Dinka had killed my mommy glider. Cliff placed her little body in my hands, and I broke down sobbing. 

I followed him back up the stairs, pleading that the other three were ok. There was Jack and Gizzy. Where was Gadget? Then Cliff found her, not far from where he had found Mika. In an instant my ray of sunshine was gone. I screamed her name and sobbed even louder. I think I had said on my way up the stairs "Please let Gadget be ok." I didn't want any of my gliders to be hurt, but I don't deny that she was indeed my favorite. 

And so the guilt, sadness, remorse and regret have begun and remain with me. I'm so sad this happened to my sweet babies. And I'm so sad for Gizzy and Jack that they lost half their family. But I feel so fortunate that I had Mika and Gadget in my life, if only for a fleeting moment. I will never forget them, and I will love them forever.

Dinka is responsible for the death of three of my pets, so he now has a new home. In one weekend we lost three of our pets. That's a fourth of our little animal family. And while I remind myself that there are other people suffering far worse over the loss of their children than I am over the loss of my pets, it doesn't help with my personal pain. So, here are a few more photos to celebrate the life of my Mika and my Gadget.

Gadget (top) and Gizzy (bottom) a couple weeks out of pouch

Proud mommy Mika making sure her babies are safe

Papa Jack (left) with his spitting image Gadget (right)

I love this picture of Gadget (left). Looks like she got a rude awakening.

The family: Gizzy (back) kissing Gadget, Mika behind Jack

My Poor Neglected Blog

I promise I haven't forgotten about you, Mental Blog. I just haven't had anything crazy to comment about recently. As the end of the year winds down, it seems like I would be blogging about how the Mayans predict it will all end of December 21 (I don't believe it). It seems like I might have some sort of rant about how busy it is at the stores due to the holiday rush (I do all my shopping online). You might think I would go on and on about how awesome I am at work (well, that would just be bragging). But I'm not going to do that.

I realize that my last post was in September right before I was about to get my eye surgery. To report on that, I can say that everything went well.

If you don't mind looking dopey like this right afterwards

I'm sitting here typing my blog at a good distance from my monitor, and I'm not even squinting. I should have done this sooner, but "How am I going to pay for it?" was always a concern. Well, I'm paying for it...in a couple of years, these bad boys will be all mine. I hope the repo man doesn't come for them...

So, what has happened since my eye surgery? Well, I'm still on my weight loss journey. I've lost almost 60 lbs., so I'm quite proud of myself. I've been chronicling my journey on another blog (yeah, like I need another project). You can visit It Fits! to read all about the trials and tribulations associated with my lifestyle change.

My most recent comparison photo. Look, I fit in my goal dress!

Speaking of blogs, I have another one called Amateur Domestic where I post my recipes (nothing too exciting), my sewing projects (there will be more of these when I get my machine fixed or replaced) and other domestic things. Really, cooking and sewing seem to be the two domestic things I do most often, so that's all I have on there at the moment, although I would like to post more "Pet Care" posts at some point.

One of my delicious creations

So, the biggest news that happened since September is that I'm getting married next April. And guess what? I have a blog about it (I know, hard to believe right). It was the easiest way for me to keep track of everything. I could have used Pinterest, but I don't think Pinterest would have allowed me to ramble on and on like a blog will.

 Where we are tying the knot

Otherwise, that's about it. I still have the menagerie, and they are doing great. I've been living a very hermitized life that consists of sleep, work, run and eat. But that's life, and as long as I'm happy, it doesn't matter how boring it may seem to others.

Breaking up isn't always hard

Dear glasses,

We have been together for more than 20 years. You've always been there to comfort me after a long day of staring at the computer. But lately, I've been thinking that you've really let yourself go. You've just gotten bigger and bigger over the years. And I feel like I've gotten weaker and weaker the longer I stay with you. Not to mention that you sometimes are not the cleanest thing on the planet, which makes it very hard for me to function. I do acknowledge that you are always in the forefront to protect me, but I need you to also be able to protect yourself. I need to learn how to be independent. I need to be strong. So, I'm sorry to do this, glasses, but I'm going to have to break up with you. Maybe someday after we've had some time apart, we can reunite and you can be there for me only when I need to read. But for now, I need my space. And it's definitely not me, it's you.

Sincerely,

Stephanie's eyes

 

Our last picture together

I'm glad she's here

I haven't posted anything all summer. I think I've gotten lazy with my blog as other parts of my life have changed (like getting 2 new rats and a new ferret). But the one thing I felt like posting is that I'm really glad my little sister is in Raleigh now. She moved up mid-July, and it just makes me happy that she's so close. I'm probably driving her crazy. I've been trying my best to take care of her: buying things for her apartment, fixing her a few meals, offering her a job as my housekeeper to give her some extra money. But at some point I have to face it. Jade is no longer that little baby I would baby-sit. She's no longer that little kid that would sometimes get on my nerves. She's no longer that teenager with whom I couldn't relate. She's a young woman, and she knows how to take care of herself. But she'll always be my little sister, and I'm always going to make sure that she has what she needs. After all, I was her "Ma Stephie" when she was little.

I can't save them all

I tried to be a hero again, but all I felt was helpless. On our way home from the grocery store, Cliff saw a snake lying in the middle of our neighborhood road. At my urging, we stopped and turned around. After saving the turtle, I had all intentions of saving this poor little creature as well. I got out of the car and approached the snake. I couldn't tell what kind it was, but I knew that I didn't want to just pick it up without some precaution. I walked to the side of the road to look for a stick with which to scoop it up. But as I looked, a car came barreling down the road. I watched in horror as it ran over the poor snake. It's body flopped up, and it curled around itself. I couldn't believe someone would be so callous to just run over a poor, defenseless animal. Maybe because I was standing there, the person in the car turned around to see what we were all looking at. About that time, another car came barreling up and ran over the poor snake again. I actually screamed aloud and covered my eyes. I felt so helpless standing on the side of the road, watching the heartless humans kill one of nature's treasures. I'm sure the snake was just there soaking up the last bit of warmth from the asphalt. It hurt my feelings. All I wanted to do was help it, but all I did instead was watch it die.

I saved a life today

Today started as any other ordinary day. I got up, struggled to get myself awake, took care of my animals, and got ready for work. As I locked up my door when leaving the house, little did I know that I would attain hero status in just a few short moments.

So, here I was, in my car, riding along my neighborhood street and thinking of all I would need to do at work today. Suddenly, there he was, lying in the road. I swerved around him thinking, "You need to get out of the road." But a moment later I realized how sad I would be if I came and saw that someone else hadn't been as careful as I had to avoid him. So, I turned my car around and heading back to him.

I pulled to the opposite side of the road from where he lay. Approaching slowly and speaking gently, I tried to make sure he was calm. He seemed a bit shy, so seeing that he needed help, I gently picked him up and helped him to the side of the road, out of harm's way.

I know that most people wouldn't think that helping a poor little defenseless turtle is really that big a deal, but the older I get, the more I realize that I have to help all the little animals if I can. I saved a life today, and I'm proud of that.

I admit it, I'm cheap ... too bad vanity gets in the way

Maybe I shouldn't say I'm cheap. Maybe I should use the word frugal instead. Well, anyway you slice it, I'm careful with the dollar.

Actually, that's only half true. When it comes to getting gifts for my friends and family, I don't really think too much on money. Sure, I'll look for the best deal, but in general, I'll go ahead and buy something a little more expensive if it will make one of my loved ones happy.

But when it comes to myself, I'm tight with money. I don't like to spend a lot on clothes. Really the only indulgence clothing-wise where I don't worry about money is shoes. I don't like for my feet to hurt. But when it comes to clothes shopping for work, I'll hit up a Walmart or Target or even buy stuff on ABC Distributing (man, there are some cheap items there!). When it comes to jewelry, I appreciate the real stuff, but really, as long as it dangles and sparkles it doesn't really matter if it's a fine gem or costume beads.

One place I normally will spend an extra few bucks is on skin care and cosmetic products. That's where my vanity gets in the way of me saving money. I've got to have all natural lotions, all natural washes and vegan-friendly cosmetics. I'm not a vegan, but when it comes to skin care, I don't find it necessary to use products with animals in it. If I'm not eating meat for nutrition, then I don't need to contribute to more slaughtering of animals (that's another rant and blog entry...maybe).

What can I say...I've turned into a girly girl in my young age.

My second home

I never realized how much I value my own space at work until this week. One of my coworkers is out of work on medical leave. I am helping to cover her people while she is gone, but because she covers the company president, I need to sit at her desk when he is in the office so that I'm readily available. I don't really mind sitting at her desk. We all work on laptops, so I can just shimmy on over there with my laptop in tow. I worked from her desk yesterday since the president was here, but today and tomorrow he will be out of the office. I came back to my desk this morning, and I realized how much I missed sitting in my own space. Mainly for these reasons:

• My pictures of my furry and human family are here to greet me
• My iPhone speaker is at this desk so I can listen to Pandora throughout the day
• I know my own organization system
• I know where all my supplies are
• I use lamps instead of the fluorescent lighting because it's a much nicer setting

I guess the main thing is that when I'm at work, my desk is my home. I didn't realize just how comfortable I had gotten here and how much I like my own little space.

Showing Some Leg

I'm definitely feeling girly these days. I've been working hard on changing my lifestyle and having a healthier diet with lots of exercise. Now that I've shed some unwanted LBs, I'm starting to get excited about shopping. I went to Walmart (ugh) last week to buy a few things because all my other clothes are getting so big that I can't really keep wearing them. There were a lot of cute little cheap dresses there, so I opted to get some dresses.

I don't normally wear dresses, but over the last week, I've really enjoyed rediscovering my feminine side. Here's a recent picture of me in one of my dresses.

Not your normal crush

Remember what it's like to have a crush on someone. You wait for the moment to see him. It always brings a smile to your face when you think of him. And one little bit of attention from that special someone can keep your heart soaring for days. Of course, that's how it always was for me.

I thought crushes were relegated to high school. But I guess they can extend into your adult life too. Although, my crushes now are a lot different from the silly ones I had back then.

I now have the same silly high school crushes on animals. I just love seeing the different neighborhood animals out and about. For example, one of my neighbors has this very cute little dog named Dolla. I've never had any interaction with her until this week. This week she came running up to me after I got out of my car after work. She begged to be petted, and when I sat down on the sidewalk, she jumped happily into my lap. I was hooked. What a sweet dog! I almost couldn't bear to take her back to her family because I just wanted to scoop her up for myself. But of course, I carried her back and reluctantly gave her to her mommy. Since that interaction, I've been looking for her in the parking lot. Just being around such a happy little creature is enough to buoy my spirits.

Misser Kitty, my gorgeous orange kitty, started as a stray. He would come up to us and talk to us with sweet little cat meows. It wasn't long before I started feeding the sweet little guy. And the more I was around MK, the more I wanted him to be my cat. Since he was a stray, I didn't feel so bad just scooping him up and letting him stay with me. He still roams the outside and visits the neighbors, but I have such a sense of pride when he comes running to me when I get home from work and leads me to our home.

And I can't forget little Chloe. Chloe is one of my friend's dogs who lives in my neighborhood. She reminds me so much of Piper, like a little Mini-Me for him. She used to bark a lot at me, but since she has gotten used to me and Cliff, she now happily wags her tail when we approach. And sometimes she gives me little Chloe kisses on my hand. I love seeing my friend and chatting with her, but I have to admit that I can't help but chase her down in the parking lot when Chloe is by her side. The little dancing bundle does make me smile.

I don't know why I get like this about animals. There are some cats that roam our neighborhood that are quite skittish. Obviously, since they haven't warmed up to me, I haven't warmed up to them. But when there is a truly sweet animal who will just trust you, a stranger, enough to run up to you and give you kisses...well, it just gives my heart a little pitter-patter.

The Leprechauns Came Late

I'm feeling quite inspired today. My morning started with the spotting of a double-rainbow. I even got a picture of it. It must be my lucky day. The leprechauns are three days late, but I'll certainly take a pot of gold from the end of both those rainbows.

I'm not a member of the exclusive club

People are starting to raise their eyebrows over my long courtship with Cliff. I've been asked a few times over the last couple months if there are plans for marriage in our future. Luckily, everyone seems to accept my answer of "Probably not." But I'm beginning to feel like marriage is some sort of exclusive club, and those that are in it don't understand why I'm not trying to join. I won't go into the big long reason of why I don't need to be married. I'll just say that I'm quite content with how things are.

I could classify Cliff as my boyfriend (for the normal folk), or as my soul mate (for the romantic/cheesy people), or as my partner (for the politically correct crowd). But I prefer to say that I'm sharing my life with my best friend. We share a love of zombie movies, an affinity for mayonnaise, a taste for microbrewed beer, and an appreciation for all things furry (and sometimes scaley or fine-feathered). Our biggest fight has been over whether or not recording music off the radio is copyright infringement, so needless to say, we don't argue often. We have similar tastes in TV shows and movies, and laughter is so easy between us.

So, I may not be a member of the exclusive marriage club, but I'm happy being the president of the Cliff Garrett fan club. Only with my best friend would I be ok taking a picture like this!

Trouble

So, the song Trouble by Ray LaMontagne is currently playing on my Pandora station. I can't help but smile every time I hear this song. It's the dog's fault.

I just can't keep my eyes off you

I'll admit that I love to watch the Food Network. Cooking is one of my favorite hobbies. I just find it intriguing that I can take 4 or 5 ingredients and turn them into something delicious. I started teaching myself how to cook in college, and I've really come a long way. I even create my own recipes now (see Recipe Random for some of my recipes).

But now that I'm being really super healthy, I find myself with cravings. My cravings don't really involve how something tastes, although I would certainly like to taste some of these things. I find myself having a craving to look at delicious food. I'll take a look at pictures on a menu, and my craving will be sated. I don't actually have to eat the cupcake. I just like to look at the fluffy icing on top of the moist cake, and I feel fine. I like to see the cheese stretch on the pizza commercials, and while I would love to chow down on a greasy slice, I haven't yet broken down just from the sight of it.

Here is some eye candy that I can come back and swoon over later. Maybe my true calling was as a food stylist.

I Feel Great!

Not long ago, I commented that I was starting my caffeine habit again. Well, I'm proud to say that I've nipped caffeine in the bud, completely. I was still having caffeine in diet drinks, chocolate, and I'm sure other sources. That's all completely out of my system. I'm living healthy, and part of that means no more caffeine. So while the going was tough for a little while, now I feel great. I've got energy and my mood has improved greatly. I've got to put this energy and good mood to good use. I see YBB in my not-so-distant future. Until then, I'll find other ways to burn off this healthy energy ... maybe the dogs are going to benefit from my kicking the habit.

Unconditional Love

Pets really warm my heart. I'm an avid animal lover, as most people realize about me about 2 seconds into knowing me. I believe my fondness for animals really stems from the utter sense of unconditional love that you get from them. They put all their trust in you to care for them, and their love and silly antics are rewarding tenfold. You'll never hear an animal scream "I hate you" in frustration. Most pets want nothing more than to please their human counterparts, and I have some of the best companions one could hope for. I like to think that the pets I get realize how very much I care about them and that is why they turn out so good, so loving...but that might just be me patting myself on the back.

My pups are probably the most reciprocating of my affections. They are such sweet little fuzzballs, and they really try hard to be good dogs. I really get the warm and fuzzies when Piper lies on my chest looking at me with those soulful, puppy dog eyes. And nothing brings a smile to my face faster than when Tokie comes running over, tail wagging, happily panting for a hug and kiss. I can't imagine either of them ever turning against me.

The ferret is probably the funniest little pet we own. She is independent, but really likes checking things out on her own time. She spends her days in our bedroom, but even when she ventures downstairs to check on everything, we inevitably will find her back in her bed upstairs after only 10 minutes of exploring. We call her "The Gatekeeper" because she always blocks the door before we leave, insisting we give her a treat. But anytime I want kisses from the little rugrat, she's always willing to oblige. It's hard to imagine a sweeter, more well-behaved fuzzbutt.

My sugar gliders are my newest companions, and I wasn't sure how well they would get along with the humans. After doing research and talking to vets, they sounded like sweet little companions to have. They allow humans to be a part of their colony and bond with them as well as any dog. So, we started with 2 and ended up with 4 after we found out the female had joeys in her pouch. The 2 adults certainly seem to love us, but their affection doesn't compare to that of the babies. We got to experience something a lot of other glider owners haven't. We've been with those babies since they came out of the pouch, and they absolutely love us. They sometimes even groom us, and let me tell you, there is nothing more surprising than the feeling of a wet, glider tongue on your ear. But we really made a challenge for ourselves when we adopted another glider who needed a home. The family of 4 are not accepting him into their colony, but he seems content to be in a colony with just Cliff, him, and me, although Cliff is by far his preferred human. It's been a struggle, but he seems to be trusting us, cuddling with us at glider playtime, and sometimes grooming Cliff's facial hair. They really are such interesting little critters.

And last but not least, are the cats. Cats are a little tougher. They are more independent, so there are plenty of times where they don't reciprocate our affection. But when they want to be loved on, they are some of the most amazingly loving critters you could imagine. There's something calming about the way a cat will rub his face against you when he's in a loving mood. And although it's not the most pleasant sensation, you'll never see a more content animal than a cat who is lost in his kneading past time. I have 2 cats: Bingbong, who most often lets us be, and Misser Kitty, who is so grateful for an inside home that he lavishes us with lots of affection...sometimes in the middle of the night. Although they are some shedding beast, they'll always have a special place in my heart.

They prey on the weak

Until recently, I had always been against going to the home hostess parties like Tupperware and Mary Kay. I was quite anti-home parties. I had no intention of purchasing the products, so why even go to listen to the spiel?

But these days, I'm more open to most everything. I feel like Jim Carrey in "Yes Man" as I feel I'm pretty agreeable with everything.

They must be able to sense this agreeable nature on people, those home party consultants. It seems they always manage to find the weak link in the crowd and get a party booked.

I am that weak link.

I recently attended a jewelry party, and I guess all the sparkles made me goofy. Before I knew what had happened, I was signing up to host my own party.

It's ok. I don't mind being weak for pretty things.

A girl's weakness

Good grief...when did I become one of those girls? You know the type...into all things sparkly and giddy over baubles.

Well, I'm not quite as bad as I could be, but I definitely love jewelry. It doesn't have to be real; it just has to be pretty. I think I started liking jewelry when I started dressing more professionally for work. My weaknesses are earrings and necklaces, whereas rings and bracelets don't really phase me. I like a pretty ring or bracelet, but I think I just get annoyed at having things on my hands/wrists (although, I confess to wearing a watch everyday).

Tonight I'll be attending one of those home shopping parties. Normally, I will bypass these kinds of events, but the host tapped into my weakness. My real mistake was actually looking at the jewelry catalog. I'll be lucky if I don't leave the event in major debt.

What can I say...I'm just a shiny type of girl.

Saturday breakfast routine

I'm a bit ashamed of my Saturday breakfast routine. I usually stumble down the stairs, take a look at the pile of dishes from the night before, and decree that this is my indulgence day.

Breakfast typically includes a spin through the Biscuitville drive-thru for a quite tasty, but greasy, biscuit sandwich, or if I'm feeling fancy, we'll go to a restaurant for breakfast, our favorite being the State Farmer's Market Restaurant.

This has to stop. From now on, I will make the crappy breakfasts on the weekends.

Some call it lazy, I call it convenient

The Internet has really changed my life. I know the Internet has been around for a while now, but I still get amazed at how easily accessible everything is. Anything one could think of is probably available for purchase online. I did most of my Christmas shopping online for the past holiday season, and I was able to find some really nifty items for people. And with my iPhone, I feel technologically unstoppable.

Side note on how my iPhone changed my life. Cliff and I went on vacation to Busch Gardens and Washington DC a few years ago. We had just gotten Tokie a few months before, and we were looking forward to a "family" vacation. Well, when we were traveling from Williamsburg to DC, we had some time to kill before we were able to check into our hotel. We didn't really know what we could do that would be pet-friendly. Within a couple of minutes, thanks to the help of my trusty iPhone, I found a boat tour around the capital that was puppy friendly. Tokie had quite a good time riding on that boat with her mommy and daddy. That was the moment I knew things had changed. Information was immediately accessible.

Anyway, that's a little of an aside to my real post. So, recently, I've been on quite the online shopping kick. I've purchased some clothes for myself, most of the Christmas gifts (which I already mentioned), and I even do my grocery shopping online. It's so much easier to just have a company send me the things I want or in the case of the grocery store, to do my shopping for me and bring it to my car. Although I am perfectly capable of going to a store and shopping for clothes, gifts, and groceries, I feel that be letting other people send me my purchases or load my car with groceries, I'm actually keeping from doing impulse purchasing. And now that we have an Amazon Prime account, I get shipping for free...they may not be such a good thing to help with impulse purchasing...

The Relapse

I had prided myself on being able to kick my coffee habit. I used to drink coffee all the time when I worked at UNC and then partially into my work with my former company. Usually, it was just a cup in the morning to get me going. I would brew a pot at home, and Cliff and I would leave with our steaming mugs of "wake me up". One day, I just got fed up. I decided that I didn't want to drink coffee anymore. I believe part of it had to do with the fact that we were drinking such strong coffee, grinding our own beans from Starbucks and brewing it on the "Strong" setting. The other part was probably my own resistance at being addicted to any kind of substance. I don't like to take pills for pains, so why should I let myself depend upon a substance just to get me going in the morning?

So, there I went, off the coffee cold-turkey leaving Cliff with his addiction. Instead of brewing coffee at home, he started purchasing a cup of joe from Starbucks in the mornings. I felt kind of bad for leaving him alone with that horrible vice. After all, I was the one who insisted we brew coffee in the mornings. But he's gotten better with it, and I was happy being caffeine free...

At least, I was caffeine free. Then I started working at my new job. Now, I'm not blaming my new job or any new stresses for my rekindled flame with coffee. I certainly could have withstood getting coffee. But my company has this really cool Flavia coffee machine, and it's really hard for me to resist. The coffee packets are really good, and mugs are small (probably about 8 oz.), so it hardly seemed as bad as it was when I made my own brew at home. But still, my coffee addiction is definitely back, no matter how mild.

At first it started with a cup in the middle of the morning; a snack before lunch. These past few days, I have been having my 1 cup of coffee at the end of the day. Around 4 or 4:30, I'll slink into the kitchen to get a quick jolt. I've decided that I'll be ok with this afternoon vice as it is helping me have enough staying power to cook dinner when I get home instead of melting into my chair after a long day.

My new concern regarding my coffee addiction is based on the new coffee machine we got for Christmas. We've always liked grinding our own beans, so we had a separate grinder from our old Mr. Coffee. Now, we have a glorious Cuisinart coffee maker with a built-in grinder. I haven't really programmed it yet to have the sweet caffeinated elixir ready for us when we awake in the morning, but it's just a matter of time. I believe tonight will be the night that I program that machine and reintroduce my long-shunned morning addiction to my routine. Oh, coffee. You're such a little vixen.

Peeving Over The Hidden

One of my biggest pet peeves is not being able to find something that shouldn't really be hidden. My most recent example of this is our digital camera. I know I've seen that thing somewhere recently, but this weekend's hunt for the elusive picture maker ended in defeat. I don't know where I saw it, but now it is deliberately hiding from me. I'm not amused.

My quest for the camera began on Saturday. I don't really even need it. I have an iPhone that takes ok pictures. But I've been wanting to find the camera so that I can have it nearby for when I start my YouTube series. The digital camera has video capability, and while I have video capability with my iPhone, Cliff's iPhone, my Macbook, and Cliff's Macbook, I just really wanted to setup the digital camera as well. After all, how can I be a YouTube sensation without multiple camera angles?

I suppose I will rear it's digital head when I least expect it. I'll be on the search for something else, and it will just come out like we're playing a game of hide and seek.

Grrrrr, it's so frustrating, but I'm getting over it.