Summer Fun, Ingenious Ways to Stay Cool, and Forget Me Not

Good News

God is generous with His rewards.

My DH and I looked at a house for rent on the northeast side of town a few weeks ago. I fell in love. It's not perfect, but pretty darn close for our situation. I asked the landlady when she'd be back in town so we could sign paperwork and give her a wad of money. She said she needed to think it over and discuss it with her husband.

What did she need to think over, you ask? Well, it's not our financial situation.

It's the cat.

So I called her a few days later, she said she was still showing the place and would get back to us by Tuesday evening.

When the phone never rang, I was crushed. But that was the day I committed to rejoicing in God's Plan, and I pasted a smile on my face and knew He had something in store for us.

Went to work Wednesday, pulled the classifieds and started calling and making appointments to see other places.

And you know what happened? The landlady left a message on our machine while we were working.

Yes! We're signing the lease Sunday!

I couldn't be more excited.

Well, on second thought, if God were to provide someone to pack this house up, and move everything for me......

Christmas 2009

Before the chaos begins.

Thank you, Nanny! I love it!
And Aunt Beth, I couldn't wait to put this on!
My bling-bling from Andrew. I'm gonna need a security guard to walk around with this on!
(hmmm, I wonder if he's a Bengals fan...)
Fun to decorate, not-so-fun to eat.
Tiger's glad the presents are gone so he can get back to normal.
Making kibbe with daddy.
Happy Birthday, Jesus!
My candles burned all day, remembering my little angel, and the angels of all my friends. Merry Christmas, my Leila. I know you're celebrating at an awesome birthday party in heaven!

Update on Tiger

This weekend has been all over the place. I wish I have a definite answer when asked how Tiger's doing. At times, he's practically his old self, albeit much skinnier. Others, like last night when he peed all over his feet, not so much.

The good news is I haven't seen him vomit since Friday. Diarrhea, yeah. But at least he's keeping down what he's been eating. If only he could make it to the litterbox...

So far today (knock on wood) he seems to be doing pretty well. Eating small amounts of his expensive Prescription Diet mixed with chicken babyfood, and drinking from the toilet (yeah, he's disgusting - but I'll let him drink out of whatever he wants right now, as long as he drinks!). He's started to curl up again when he lays down, instead of that miserable hunker they seem to have when they don't feel well. He's also been outside for awhile today, so if he's had bowel distress, I don't know about it.


I'm cautiously optimistic. Maybe too many bad things have been happening to me to trust that something wonderful can come of this.

Tiger is scheduled for an ultrasound tomorrow, which we may skip if he continues to progress tonight. We've sort of discussed euthanizing him once we've seen the results of the test, if the prognosis is too bad. And most surprising to me, for as many times as Yasar has threatened to get rid of Tiger, he does not want to talk about that. Typical guy, huh? :)

A Vet Story

Yesterday Tiger went in for another bolus of fluid to get him through the weekend. It was a drop-off thing, so I went and hung out with Hubs at Domino's until Tiger was all done.

When I went back, there were a few people in front of me for service. A very nice woman with a sick little Yorkie and I were chatting, and we both noticed a young woman and her significant other come out of one of the exam rooms, completely distraught and in tears.

We both shook our heads and said a little prayer for them, and for us.

So Crystal, the super-nice front desk lady, is settling my account up. And we're talking about how good it was that Yasar got to talk to the vet earlier, that he sort of gets what's going on and he'll feel a little better about the financial side of this situation. I was saying that this is all new to Yasar, in Syria they treat animals like animals, not like members of the family. They don't spend this kind of money trying to keep a pet alive and comfortable.

Crystal kind of looks at me out of the corner of her eye and says, "well, if he gets upset, just tell him about those people you just saw. The ones that were crying. She just authorized us to perform a $350 leg amputation surgery.....on her hamster."

I was proud of myself - I actually controlled myself for almost 30 seconds before I just cracked up.

Only in America...

3 Months Later - Where Am I Now?

It amazes me that three months has passed already.

Mostly, I'm okay.

I set aside my time to cry, when I know I'm going to be alone.

There are some projects in the works to keep me busy.

I still miss my little girl very, very much....


...but, right now, at this very moment, it doesn't feel so debilitating.

That's not to say that those horrible tears won't be back 5 minutes from now.

Grief can be so unpredictable, that's the hell of it.

But grief doesn't seem to be my main focus anymore.

Lots of pots in the fire right now.

The most pressing at the moment being Tiger.

He's very sick. And we need your prayers.

"Pancreatitis", the vet says.

He's lost so much weight. Vomitting. Diarrhea. Dehydration.

Large vet bills at the most inopportune time.

Yes, he's "just a cat", but we love him like family.

And losing him would just be another blow.

A swift kick to someone desperately trying to stand up.

Ahhhh.....

After a loooong day of walking IKEA, a little AFV and a cappuccino are in order.

He's Sensitive About His Bald Spot

$123 later, Tiger is sporting a funky new haircut and an expensive new canned-food habit. But he's back to his old self, and we're so glad.

Now to get him used to being an inside-only cat. :)

Middle of the Night - Tiger Rant

I'm so darn tired of seeing that alarm clock say 2:00 and it's still dark outside. This happens about once a week, usually when I have something going on in the morning - I must think about stuff in my sleep and just wait for that 2am potty trip to push me beyond the cusp of sleepiness. Fun.

Tonight, as I reflect, I'm thanking God for a particular blessing in my life. This week I took our cat, Tiger, to the vet to get a flea bath, some Advantix, and a distemper shot. I got a call from the vet around lunchtime that Tiger's gums were pale and they wanted to run some blood tests on him. You know, nothing makes you realize how much you take something for granted until it's gone. That was the longest afternoon I've had in awhile. I was just terrified that this was going to be bad - I suspected they were testing for feline leukemia, and called a friend to confirm that. Thankfully, God came through and Tiger tested negative (whew!).

When I picked him up from the vet, I got a chance to ask the question that's been niggling at me for awhile...what kind of cat is Tiger? He found us about a year ago, he jumped into a driver's car at the store and refused to leave. We took him to the animal shelter because we were sure someone out there missed him - he's an incredibly friendly cat, and he's fixed and front-declawed. The Miami County Animal Shelter listed him on the website as a brown tabby, which is at odds with his spotted pattern. So, while paying my vet bill, I asked, and got a strange answer...he's probably half Bengal. Huh?

Then I started researching the breed, and it all began to make sense. Some of Tiger's best traits are common for the Bengal cat - extremely bright, vocal, large-sized, very friendly. All the things we saw in him and fell in love with that first night.

As I sit here now, he's patiently waiting for the laptop to vacate HIS space. And I know what he'll do, curl up on my lap for some lovin'. And when I stop petting him, he'll reach up that paw, stroke my face, and remind me that HE's not done being loved.

Tiger, you're a blessing in my life. I thank God He brought you to us. Thank you for being part of our family.