Holy wedding bells, Batman!

I woke up this morning and realized that it is exactly 3 months before the big day! I feel a mix of satisfaction and trepidation as I realize that I have so many tasks complete, yet so many tasks yet to even get started on. I feel very good about what I've accomplished (with the help of friends and family) but I definitely need to kick it into high gear...I DO NOT want to have a ton of things to get done at the last minute!

I'm also feeling a tremendous mix of emotions. The excitement I have for beginning my life with "B" is just boundless but, at the same time, I have so many other emotions mixing with it:

• Fear - of all the changes that will be taking place in my life...new home, sharing a home with another person (pets don't count for preparing for this day), getting to know each other in the day-to-day humdrum of life. And the thing I'm always the most fearful of...the unknown and that whole not knowing what the future holds.
• Sadness - that I'll be further from friends and family than I've been in the past 12 years. They are SO important to me and I get sad thinking that I may not see them quite as much (sniff sniff). I must say, I'm truly bless that "B" totally understands how important my friends and family are to me and has been very sympathetic to know how difficult this change will be.

As I ramp up for the next few months, I'm daily becoming more aware and appreciative of all the wonderful people in my life. My deepest thanks and love to my friends and family for all that you are, all that you do, and for all your love and support...you know who you are!

Prayers and raffle

I covet your thoughts and prayers for a friend of a co-worker. Here's the story, from my co-worker's words:

A friend of mine was in a serious accident over the Thanksgiving holiday. He was critically injured when struck by a hit and run driver while crossing the street. Thankfully he is making major progress in his recovery and was just discharged to Magee Rehab but he has suffered major brain trauma and has a long way to go. As you can imagine, he and his wife will be faced with some serious bills in the coming months as Brian will most likely need constant home care after his month at Magee.

Brian's local hangout has organized a raffle to help his family mitigate some of the financial burden during this difficult time. I've offered to help my co-worker in selling some of the raffle tickets so, if you're in the area and are interested in purchasing one or more raffle tickets, let me know. Here's the details:

• Cost: $3 per ticket or 2 for $5
• Prizes: 1st prize = Basket of Cheer; 2nd prize = sports memorabilia (probably Eagles-related); 3rd, 4th, and 5th prizes = gift certificates
• When: Drawing will be on January 25th

Just shoot me a note or call me if you're interested in participating in the raffle. And please be thinking and praying for this couple and their family and friends as they learn to adjust and cope with the added stress of not only the financial burden, but also the changes this will have on their lives.

A home for the holidays!

For anyone interested, I thought I'd post an update to my earlier post about my most recent foster cats. I am so happy to say that they have found their forever home which just happens to be a woman a work with. I could hardly believe it when she told me she wanted to adopt them BOTH.

What a great success story and I know they are in a wonderful, loving home. So, no more living on the streets or abuse for these little wonders.

Oh, and I get visitation rights!!!

I get my next set of fosters on the 23rd and will have them over the holidays. It's a set of 3 young, tortoise-shell calicos. I'll post pics once I get them.

Straight No Chaser

These guys are pretty clever and I hear they now have a Christmas CD out. Check them out!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

How could anyone do this?

A few weeks ago, a got a new foster kitty. Her name is Brenda, but I call her Mama Bear (because I'm also fostering her son). Here's an pic of the 2 of them (Mama Bear on the left, Bruno on the right):

When I got Mama Bear, one of the heads of our rescue, Res-Q-Pets, let me know that she had a limp and a swollen paw that had been injured prior to her being rescued a couple months earlier. She has been to the vet and had her wounds treated and the vet said it looked like something had been wrapped around her paw real tight (like string, wire, or a rubberband). So, we were waiting to see how it healed.

Fast forward about a week, I get home after being away overnight, I pick Mama Bear up and notice something on her nearly black little paw. I could hardly believe my eyes when I realized that she had a rubberband coming out of her paw!!! Well, I immediately was furious and emailed Lisa and asked her what we needed to do. Within a couple days, Mama Bear was taken to the vet, sedated, and the vet removed an ENTIRE RUBBERBAND from inside her paw. It had been wrapped around her paw several times, evidence that it was done by a person and not just something she had tripped into. Here's a pic of her paw after removal of the rubberband.

So, my question is, who in the world would possibly do this to a helpless creature?!? You have to understand, Mama Bear is one of the sweetest cats I've ever had the pleasure to care for. I just really don't understand what goes through a person's mind to think they even have the right to hurt another creature, especially those that are smaller. Do they not realize that God's put His creatures in our care?

Anyways, Mama Bear is only ~1-1/2 years old and spent who knows how long on the streets of Trenton in one of the worst neighborhoods, yet her demeanor is still so gentle and loving. I had a greater part in her rescue than I have with other of my fosters and I feel a great sense of joy to know that I've helped in even the smallest of ways. Now, 2 weeks past her little surgery, Mama Bear has virtually NO limp, her paw is normal size, and she now stands correctly on it. There is evidence of some permanent damage in that she doesn't put out her claws on that paw and it seems to be a little bit twisted, but none of that seems to ever bother her and she no longer seems to have any pain or discomfort. With that, I think this is a true success story!!!

Oh, and there is someone at my work who is thinking of adopting her so double bonus if that all works out!!!

Oooouuuuurrr house...

...is a very, very, very fine house. Okay, so there aren't 2 cats in the yard, but the house is a very nice house (and we do have a crazy squirrel). "B" and I closed on our dream home in mid November. "B" is living there now and I'll move in a few days before the wedding in March. So, it doesn't exactly feel completely real to me yet and probably won't for a few months, but he's settling in and I'll slowly start moving small stuff over the next few months.

So, long overdue, here are some pics of our new home:

Beautiful silestone countertops and appliances that are only a couple years old (yeah!)

Family room, which gets lots of light (picture taken from the loft).

Now, lets take a trip down the beautiful wood floors in the entryway.

And up the stairs to the loft and the bedrooms. When at the top of the stairs, the loft is to the left and looks down into the family room (you can see the opening in this pic).

Here's one of my favorite rooms...the loft. It also gets lots of light and it will be my room to relax in, read a book, whatever. The princesses are going to go eventually...once we figure out what we want to do in its place.

And last but most certainly not least, the back yard. Here's a picture of our biggest "lawn" ornament. It's great to have, but takes up such an enormous part of the yard that we're going to dismantle and relocate the equipment. Then our biggest project (for next spring) is to put in a lawn instead of bark dust.

I'm sure I'll have more pics later. Right now the house is pretty empty and probably will be for quite some time as we make it our own.