Just call us that cat whisperer....

Yesterday morning Cinnamon and I took our daily walk around our apartment complex and lo and behold we hear a little crying. We head over to investigate and I call out, "here kitty kitty kitty". And to our amazement this little black and orange kitty with blue eyes comes stumbling out of the bush. She was walking like she was drunk! Stumbling then falling but walked right up to Cinnamon and snuggled against her nose! She was all alone and looked to be a few weeks old. This is the second time in a month that Cinnamon and I find abandoned kittens! (See a couple of posts back for the others we found)!
We picked up the kitty and ran back home to tell my hubby look what we found. He insists that we go looking for them but honestly we don't! LOL.

We couldn't keep her, my Roscoe was not impressed with the idea. He hissed and growled but Cinnamon was such a sweet mommy! She licked and laid down and let the kitty crawl all over her. We found her a home right away and I am thrilled to have helped this little baby girl survive. In all honesty, logic aside, I do wish the lady would call and say she has to return her to us. :(

CAUTION!! The following pics are to cute for words!
















Wishing you all a great week!

~Marcia

Show Us Your Roosters Party!!

Today I am participating in Bella Vista's Show us your Rooster's Party!! I am a rooster enthusiast. I love, LOVE roosters! I have shared my collection with you before but I jumped at the chance to do it again! So without further adieu here are my roosters!

(Ok, so the live one isn't technically "mine" but I thought I'd share his beauty with you. And fine I think there may be a chicken in among the roosters.... ;)

Thanks Barb for giving us the chance to share our love of Roosters!

Happy weekend all!

~Marcia

Momma's going crazy

Doesn't he just look like he's got attitude?

I've introduced Roscoe to you before and gave you some insight into how we first met. Roscoe is a sweet soul but the little 6 lb bugger shows his disdain by peeing on carpet! For the past 9 years I have ripped out carpet, locked him in bathrooms while I was at work, apologized to whomever's house we stayed at when he'd pee. If there was no carpet he chose my bed. Right smack on my side by the pillow. If you have not smelled stale cat pee, you cannot imagine the lingering and immortal scent that fills your nostrils. Then as soon as he starts it he stops. There's pee in his litter box. I am thrilled! I do a happy dance and we go on with our lives. Then BAM he's back at it.

I am renting at the moment and despite how I have fantasized about it, I can't rip up this carpet. Over the years I have spent so much money on products claiming to remove the odors that I should've taken stocks out in their companies. I have not found ONE product that works as it claims until I read a review on http://www.petco.com/ . This is called Stink Free, the photo, is courtesy of petco.com

I am in looooove. It does exactly as it says it does, it removes the odor instantly! I am in no way affiliated with petco or this product, but if I can point another cat owner in the right direction I am happy to. Anyway, this product works so good, that he's taken to peeing outside of his one little "area". I have smelt pee in front of the couch, under my computer desk. We don't even let him in our room for fear he'll pee in there. You should know that he's on a special food called CD which is for cats that are prone to crystals. We just took him to the vet to see if he has crystals which he doesn't but he is on meds for a urine infection. Should I change his litter? Is he not happy?

Right now I've resorted to locking him in the bathroom while we're at work and when we come home there's pee in his litter! But at night as I was watching him he'll pee on the carpet! So I wonder, am I doing right by locking him in the daytime? Is he retaliating by peeing during the night? I have never hit him or put his nose in it, but last night I sprayed him with the water container and he ran and turned his back to me. I am at my ropes end. I love this animal but don't know what else to do for him. I don't want to put him down and I know if I give him to a cat shelter he will just live out his life in a cage. Who would take in a cat that has a history of peeing outside his box?

If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them! My sanity thanks you, my carpet thanks you, my kittys happiness thanks you and my marriage thanks you!

~ Marcia

Onto another week..

It always amazes me just how quickly the weekend flies by. We didn't do too much besides some visiting and errands. But I did manage to take a few pictures along the way and wanted to show you some of our sights this past weekend. Please excuse the date on the photos. I did not register the date and it automatically brings it automates the date. Haven't mastered how to remove it completely yet...

A side view of a gorgeous garage.

A country farmhouse. Don't you just love the front porch?

A view of the corn stalks. They are beautiful!

An old, forgotten cemetery that someone erracted a fence around. We wanted to get a closer look but it now sits at the entrance of a private farm.

Another beautiful home.

This is the backyard of the home above. Isn't it gorgeous? You may need to click on the picture to get the full effect.

Sorry for the graining picture, I was in a moving vehicle. But I always admired this home and wanted to show you its beauty. The picture does not do it justice.

I hope you had a great weekend!

~ Marcia

My Husband Rocks!

For anyone that knows us, knows that we long to be parents. Although we adore our rescued fur babies, we hope that God will give us the fur less kind one day soon. My ultimate dream is to be a stay at home mom. To raise our children ourselves. As we stand right now, that would not be an option. We could afford to have a baby but soon after I would have to return to work and hand that little precious life over to someone else to care for all day. Although we luckily know that we can undoubtedly count on my in laws and know that the baby would be so very loved and cared for, it is not the same as experiencing the babies firsts ourselves.

So, what does this have to do with my husband rocking? Well, he knows my dreams, and knows our situation and despite working a full 8 hour shift already, (which doesn't include the 2 hours of driving each day) he has found a course that he could enroll in which would then allow him a higher salary! As it stands right now he gets up at 4am for work and doesn't come home until 3:30 pm. He then makes my lunch, feeds our pets, takes the pup out for walks and now wants to add to his schedule so we can afford to be a single income family and I could realize my dream of being a stay at home mom.

He has already been granted an apprenticeship and is even the schools number one choice! Yet the economy has affected the apprenticeship and we do not know if or when it will start. So he decided on a secondary option, which is adding a course to his already full work day. He has decided to give up simple luxuries (as sleep) so he can provide better for our family. This is why I think my hubby rocks!

He will be a great dad. If there is any indication by my niece's love for him!

~ Marcia

Lookie lookie what I found

We planned a very relaxed weekend. Saturday we'd get up, go get our groceries, take the pup out for long walks and maybe check out what's happening around our town later in the evening. It just goes to show no matter how nicely packaged and proper we plan our days, life has it's own way of deciding itself for you.

Friday night on our evening walk, we passed by a dense bush in front of a neighbors porch. As we walked by we heard rather loud meowing. We could tell it was a kitten but we thought it was waiting it's momma and kept on for home. Saturday morning I took the pup out for her morning walk and decided to check back on the dense bush. Sure enough, as I got closer the mewoing started up again. It was coming from inside a dense, prickly bush. Cinnamon and I could not see the kitty but then we heard a very meek meow a little further away from the bush. I walked over to investigate and sprawled out on the dirt was the tinest little thing I ever did see. His eyes were still closed and for a second I thought it was a mouse! I scooped him up in my arms, scanning the area for an angry momma cat, but she was no where to be found. Cinnamon and I all but ran for home to show hubby what we found. We wrapped up the wet little guy in face cloths and put him in a shoe box then we went back to get his brother. He was very sweet but you could see he was agitated and hungry. When we got back a visiting passerbye held the prickly bush back so I could scan the area for his sibling as hubby held onto our first little guy. Sure enough, there was a second kitten, a lot larger than the first, but he too had his eyes closed. When I scooped him up and put him in the shoebox with his brother the two just curled up together and were instantly comforted.


I have never seen anything so small in all my life. We knew they must be hungry but it was still rather early and the local PetSmart was still closed. So we drove over to our vet and purchased a can of kittens milk and some syringes and fed the little guys. The chubby one (which we've called Jethero) ate much better than his brother Oreo. (They are inverted skunks, with the white strips going down their bellies instead of their backs)! We took them to the Humane Society thinking we were doing them the best possible service as we both work and can't stay home to bottle feed them every two hours. The nice gentelmen that worked there kindly told me that they would no doubt be euthanized as they had no foster homes to bottle feed them. I stood there crying, still in my pj's and bed head and non brushed teeth (I really didn't care at this point but looking back I do feel bad for everyone I encountered), and refused to sign them over to a certain death. The manager saw my fear, anger and frustration and promised she'd do everything her in power to save them and promptly put them on a heating pad and fed them some more. (It was 88 degrees and humid, I had no idea they'd be cold)!

When we got back home we had a call from my MIL who's friend told her she'd gladly take them and care for them. She knew how to bottle feed kittens as she'd done it many times before. So back to the Humane Society hubby goes, hoping against hope that the babies would still be alive. I must've paced a new groove in the carpeting until he came back 10 minutes later (it's right down our street) with the well fed and warm kittens. We took them over to the girl that would care for them. Even though I knew they would be well taken care of and loved, I cried when I had to say goodbye. She offered to return Oreo, the tiny kitty that I found out in the dirt. I so want to take him but am not sure if I want to seperate him from his brother so we will see. She promised me pictures and I will even ask if I can visit them at the farm (no joke, it's a real farm)! where they will live.


Before letting them go I snapped some pics like every proud Momma does. Please excuse the flash and despite my best intentions they were camera shy.


The camera really does add 10 pounds! They look so big but were only a few ounces each.


See what a chunky monkey Jethero is? He's the one on the right. He's so much bigger than his brother Oreo!
I know they are in good hands and will be well cared for and despite only having them a few hours I miss them terribly. I do believe you are tested in your day to day life and I hope I passed God's test.

~ Marcia

My Husband Rocks Friday

I have just begun following KatyLin over at the great adventure who has a great Friday blog dedicated to her hubby and why she thinks he rocks. I jumped at the chance to write about my hubby and all the good he brings me and our marriage. It is very easy to focus on the negatives and I, am no exception. So this was a great way for me to focus on the positives and give you a glimpse into the great man that he is. Here's a few snippets:

He loves animals. He gets very upset when there is a story about animal abuse.




He has accepted my love of being thrifty. And doesn't even flinch when I find great deals like this insulated, material lunch bag. I have seen them for $40 and up, this one was a steal at $3.99!



He humors me while I snap away pictures as he's driving.

He cries with me over the loss of my dad and promises we'll all be together again.

Those are just some of the reasons why I love this man. It isn't always easy, but it's always real.

~ Marcia

A mid week report

I cannot believe it's already Wednesday! It has been very humid in my part of the world lately. My bones love it, my hair, not so much. LOL. Each morning upon waking, I take the pup for a walk all around the grounds. It takes us about 20 mins if she doesn't do to much sniffing. Then we come home, have breakfast and relax a bit. But lately she's been really antsy to get back out there, so for the past two mornings I take her out again before work and throw the ball around with her. This passes her out until Hubby gets home to let her out again.

Yesterday morning before work I became very domesticated! :) I made chicken parmessean so Hubby could just heat it up for supper, (my hours are until 8pm so we don't get to eat meals together. He's been great about preparing me lunches for work so I wanted to repay the favor). Then I made homemade chicken noodle soup! It is a personal favorite. I took some for lunch despite the hot humid temps. It is so cold in the office so I think it'll be just fine.

This weekend is pay week. Woo hoo! I love lining up the bills I have to pay and ticking them off. I know, it's strange. We are under a ton of bills but I want to reinstate the date night I started and quickly went by the way side. So I'm trying to come up with any plans we can do that doesn't cost to much. Do you have any favorite date ideas you don't mind sharing?

~ Marcia

Happy Monday!

Sigh, how quickly the weekend goes. I can't complain though, I had a great one. Hubby and I spent Saturday at home and took the pup out for 3 walks! On our last one we met up with other couples and their pups. Took them off leash to play and we stood around getting to know our neighbors. We spent 3 hours outside chatting while the dogs played. It was fantastic! I love impromptu get togethers. Then we went home and watched The Good Witch, a
Hallmark Channel original movie. I love Catherine Bell from Army Wives, but truly prefer her as a good witch. The home featured in this movie was called Grey House and was so beautiful and enchanting. On Sunday we were to meet up with everyone from our "pup walk" the night before over by the pool but because it was cloudy and raining on and off no one showed. So hubby and I had the pool to ourselves. We then met up with my in-laws for lunch at Chili's. Yummm. Then a bit of window shopping. We stopped in at one of our favorite stores, The Christmas Tree Shops. Don't let the name fool you, they have tons of things that have nothing to do with Christmas. But yesterday we found that, they already have taken out their Christmas goods! I love Christmas and I truly love getting a head start on gifts, but I think August is a bit crazy to pull out the Christmas decor. I really dislike living so far out in the future. Why not celebrate the last month of summer? I know companies like to make a sale so I guess I understand. They did have some great Fall finds too and so inexpensive! Gotta love that! Then last night was part two of The Good Witch movie, it was the Good Witch's Garden. I really hope they make a third installement.

Wishing you a great week!

~ Marcia

My Husband Rocks!!! - 1st Friday

KatyLin over at The Great Adventure is having a My Husband Rocks party every Friday! Being a newlywed myself (a little over 2 years) and hearing how marriage has gotten a bad rap lately I wanted to join in this great party myself! So, each Friday I will participate in her My Husband Rocks theme party and tell you great gals, why hubby of mine is a great man :)

Let's go back to the beginning shall we. We met while hubby lived in Minnesota and I in Montreal, Canada. My sister and I went along with her then boyfriend to visit his friend who had moved from Canada to Minnesota after he met and fell in love with his new wife. His friend and new wife are now my in laws! (Stick with me, it gets less confusing). When my sis and I first met my future in laws we all hit it off right away. Then in walks her son. He wore dark wash jeans, a black sleeves tee, a black bandana hiding his shoulder length hair that was tied in a tight ponytail. He just looked mean. My sister (Jen), and I were both intimidated. Then, he spoke. He had us laughing it up right away! We sang kareoke, (us, horribly off key, he and my father in law, neglected to tell us they were great)! Cruel joke I tell you! We went to a block party and were inseperable. After day 3 I didn't want to leave. I asked him what do we do from here, he said, he wanted to start dating exclusively. I honestly didn't think I'd hear from him again, but after driving 19 hours back home, I had a voice message saying he missed me. Then I had an email. He called me every single day, sent me emails and was more consistent than the guys I dated locally. He had me after day 3.

We soon found ourselves in a long distance relationship. The words of caution and "truth" (as some called it) found its way into our daily lives. I got a lot of "I bet he's cheating","Can't you find someone here"?, "Are you that lonely that you have to go all the way to MN for a man"? They all said it was out of love, but it was hurtful and mean. He, was not above it either. His were mostly about how I was only dating him to get into the US, how I too must have been unfaithful, how could he trust me? It was a hard time to remain happy. Each family gathering or party we attended we were alone. It was a rough time but we stuck it out. We'd visit every 3 months it seemed and talked about everything. After dating for a year we decided that one of us would have to move. So I sold my condo, quit my job, packed up my house and kitty and got married. I thought my friends and family had realized this would be the next step, but I soon figured out they thought this was all a phase. My moving was met with mixed reactions. But we followed our hearts and got married. Has it always been easy? No. Do I ever regret it? Not at all. I miss that I can't hop in the car and be at my sisters homes, but I don't regret marrying this handsome man at all. It is easier to see the mountains we are facing that we forget to turn around and see the valley we just crossed, together.

My handsome hubby in one of many car shots I steal of him :)


~ Marcia

An angel with fur

A couple of days ago I shared with you my sweet pup Cinnamon. Today I thought I'd introduce my other furbaby. He too is a rescue animal, a long haired tabby that I adopted when he was just 4 weeks old. His owners cat had kittens, and decided they didn't want them so they opened their apartment door and let these two little defenseless and scared kitties out into their building to fend for themselves. Roscoe has always been a little jumpy and I wonder if that's due to his days of hearing doors slamming and having no where to go. He is a sweet soul this little one. I have had him before I met hubby, when I was living with my sister and her kitty, then it was just the two of us in our own condo. He had his own pillow and would sleep with me at night. I miss that, he doesn't sleep with me anymore. I guess the bed is too full now with hubby and Cinnamon.

Roscoe loves to drink slowing dripping water out of the faucet.



He isn't thrilled about getting his fur shaven, in fact, we do it over a couple of days so as not to stress him. But you can bet he struts his stuff after he's had a nice new haircut!



He likes to let us think he has no time for the dog, but we've seen him run up to her to play and then run away.



I think he cost me $20.00 and despite his urinary infection and his aversion to carpeting, he is the best investment I have ever made. He is a sweet soul that loves no matter how crabby you are or how long you've been away from home. He will cuddle with me when I'm down and just be there for me. It's amazing what animals know despite speaking any language.



I hope if you decide to bring an animal home you will consider adopting one from a shelter. They are just waiting for someone to give their love to.

~ Marcia

A dog day..

I have a doctors appointment later on in the day and since I work in the early afternoon I've decided to take the day off. The best part? It's the first time I qualify for a paid day off! Wooo hoo! I love days where I'm not supposed to be home and here I am, enjoying the sunshine and warmth. I am going to take the pup out to play ball as she's laying on the floor with her head on the windowsill just anxiously looking outside. She is such a sweet girl. I am so proud of her.Does that sound strange, to be proud of your dog? It may, yet I truly am! She greets people with a wagging tail and a little whine. She is so sweet with little kids and my heart melts when I watch a neighbor girl rubbing Cinnamon's head and chatting away with her. She loves other dogs and plays well with her little friends Bentley and Harley and her cousin Sam. She loves to lay on the bed and snuggle with us. She loves to chase her brother Roscoe who antagonizes her and then runs away!

She is a rescue pup, who was born on a cold December morning in freezing temperatures and left outside with her mom and siblings. The mom was so malnourished that she couldn't produce any milk! I can't imagine how cold hearted some people can be. The good news was that humane society rescued them all and found them all good homes. We were told she was a husky/shepherd mix but lately many people stop to ask us if she's part grey hound. We really don't know. All we do know for certain is that she has been the best dog we could have ever had been lucky enough to have. She does not have an aggressive bone in her body. I can put my hand in her food bowl while she eats, my 2 year old niece can sit on her, lay down on her and even walk her on a lead! I am a big promotor of rescue animals. There are tons of mixed breeds that need a loving and happy home and they return the love tenfold, I can testify to that! I thought I'd share some of my favorite pics of our special girl.


Here she is with her cousin Sam. I think they met that same day and got along great! Sam too is a sweet soul.


She loves to try out new trails

Her favorite times are when the family is all together. (Really, we aren't hurting her just trying to get her to stand on the log, it didn't work out ).

She loves to "swim" as long as her feet are firmly planted on the ground.


And she loves to curl up on the couch, let out a big sigh and sleep.

Whether you're a dog or cat, or fish, or ferret, or bird lover, I hope you experience the unconditional love only an animal can give you. :)

~ Marcia

New blog layout

I have been playing around with a new blog layout, got frustrated and didn't continue. I emailed Paisley Cat and asked endless questions. She was so sweet and patiently answered all my questions. Well this weekend I decided to try it again. I will not admit to the hours I spent trying to figure things out, (even with detailed directions), but I found this fantastic blog layout and header and was in love!

If you feel like sprucing up your blog, or just seeing what else is out there, please head over to PasileyCat .

Thanks so much for all your help and your great designs!! I am loving it!

Wishing you all a great week.

~ Marcia

Happy Weekend

Some of my favorite things involves early weekend mornings, when the house is still asleep. Lighting a few scented candles, getting comfy with a cup of joe and reading. I love to surf the web and read your great blogs. I also enjoy surfing Real Estate websites, envisioning myself in such beautiful homees,the things I'd keep the same, the things I'd change. It somehow centers me, and starts me off on a great day. So I bid you all a fantastic weekend! I hope you do things for yourselves that make you smile.

~ Marcia