Another Week!

Brian was away at camp all last week. I had intentions of making plans with friends and happy hours and Greenlake walks...until I realized that between school and kickball, I only had one available evening...and the poor kittens needed some attention. This is the first year that he has gone away for the week that I felt like the week went by pretty quickly. I thought I would be a little nervous about being at the house by myself, but the kitties kept me company. It all went a-okay. Brian had fun at camp- great group of kids, weather couldn't have been better...I know he probably would have liked to stay a little longer. BUT, it is awesome to have him home. I know Frank missed playing with the laser pointer with him!

Speaking of Frank...ugh, kitty is sick. Really unsure about taking him to the vet. Without getting graphic, he clearly has an upset stomach. Also, his 'third eyelid' has been out on both eyes. I hadn't ever heard of this or seen it before- I noticed he had a white film covering half of both eyes- freaked me out!, so looked it up. Basically, it is an extra layer of protection to the cats eyes, but can also make an appearance when they are sick or stressed out. He has had the stomach issue and eyelid thing now for almost a week, but everything else seems fine. He runs around and plays with Millie, he continues eating and drinking fine...he has been a little more snuggly (usually he sprawls out next to us, but he has been curling up more). I have called the vet, made multiple appointments, but then keep cancelling them. I keep thinking I am overreacting...you can't take them to the vet every time something comes up...if he was an outdoor cat and didn't use a litter box, I wouldn't even know anything is wrong. The vet doesn't seem overly concerned...as long as he isn't getting dehydrated. But I keep having moments of panic. Millie keeps checking on him- they bump noses. I just made a trip to the grocery store to get him some rice and chicken...something mellow for his stomach. I'm sure we will end up taking him in early this week. Hopefully it isn't any big thing...Maybe he was just stressed about Brian being gone all week.

I spent half of my last blog post complaining about school and being certain I was going to fail my exam on Monday...and I ended up getting the best test grade I've had so far. Go figure. I keep having these moments (or days) of doubt about whether I am doing the right thing, back in school, nursing. Could it possibly just be fear? In church today they talked about God continuing to challenge us with that THING- our personal crux...how we can't just stop, you have to push through it. My crux has been- for quite some time- when things get difficult, I assume it is because I'm doing the wrong thing. If it isn't working, then I should probably do something else...I am a big believer in getting yourself out of a bad situation...the whole 'definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result'...don't sit still if you are unhappy, DO something, make a change. BUT, I also think that is sometimes a copout for me. Sometimes you have to push through. I feel pretty confident that God has pushed me to where I am...He wants me in school. He has put me in the right situation to be able to make this happen. And I knew from the beginning that this wasn't going to be something I could just do on my own. Of course I have to trust that God will help me out. He has to- I can't do this myself. I was feeling pretty defeated by school last week...and then got just the bump I needed to remind me that I am right where I should be. Who knows if I will get into nursing school in the first round of applications. If I don't, then that gives Brian and I a little more time to live a newly married, normal life before the craziness of full time school and worrying about tuition with a part time work schedule, etc. And I will apply again. If I do get in, then I will be able to get this whole thing moving a little sooner. Faith, Faith, Faith. It'll be fine. Just keep going. I'm glad I am currently feeling that way, because I have another test tomorrow, and another the following Monday...three Mondays in a row. Gulp.

Brian left camp early on Friday, and I went and picked him up at the ferry- because we had the opportunity to see Paul McCartney at Safeco on Friday night!! Brian's parents got tickets for us, and the four of us went- it was SO AMAZING. I mean, that guy...what a rock star. Not only is he who he is, hello Beatles...but he is 71 years old and played for THREE HOURS! The last hour he played with the three living members of Nirvana! I mean, they were doing the rockier/harder Beatles stuff, and he was yelling and sounded incredible...after already playing for two hours. It was so impressive. And what an entertainer- telling jokes, fist pumping, thumb up giving. We both felt so grateful that we had the opportunity to see him...definitely a once in a lifetime kind of thing!

And as if Friday could get any better after the show...but Jimmy Fallon had Jesse & the Rippers on his show! Whaaaa?! Yes, as in Uncle Jesse's band on Full House. And after they played a four song medley, including their #1 in Japan hit song "Forever", Becky- Uncle Jesse's wife, came out and gave him a kiss. It was so great.

We were up late, and got up bright and early to make it back up to camp for breakfast on Saturday. We spent the morning there, and then headed over to Langley for the Useless Bay coffee stop. And then into the long ferry line back home. I wish we could have stayed in Langley all day...the sun had just burned through the clouds about 30 minutes before we left. BUT, you never know how long that ferry line is going to be and I had to babysit Saturday night.

Alright, I am off to study for my test.

But look- they are snuggling with each other (and me)...

The last couple of weeks

I am in a phase of hating school. Ugh. I know that this is because I have an exam tomorrow and feel totally unprepared. But I hate that it takes up 10 hours of my evenings IN class (let alone the preparing, reading, studying- which the professor said to expect to spend 20 hours a week doing that…20 hours a week studying for ONE class), and it is beautiful outside. I hate having to say no to plans with Brian. But mostly I hate that it makes me feel stupid. School used to make me feel smart…this class makes me feel stupid. And makes me think ‘what the heck am I thinking?’. But then I think about how lucky I am to even be able to take classes- to have the time, to have the money, to have a goal. 

Okay, got that rant out. I should be studying for said unprepared test, but I’m blogging, because I’m tired of studying and I think it’s a little hopeless at this point. 

An evening that I do look forward to each week is kickball. Spring league is over- we made it all through some very dramatic playoff games- rain outs, delays…in the game before the final, we got 2 innings in (up by 8) and the lights on the field went out. We were told we would start the game back up where we left off. Well…when the game was finally rescheduled, the league made us start over AND the team showed up with completely different players…they loaded their team…for kickball. And after the end of 2 innings, we were, once again, up by 8. Immediately following that game, we played the championship. It was such a great game, back and forth…tied going into the bottom of the 7^th (we only play 7 innings), and literally three seconds after they scored a run, all the lights on the field went out. It was very dramatic. Summer season is in full swing. 

Fourth of July weekend was busy and great. I missed the Sounders game on the Wednesday because of class (to see how I feel about that, re-read the first paragraph of this entry)…then Thursday we went over to some friends for bbq and fireworks. Such a fun group of people, awesome food, aaaand some malfunctioning fireworks. Oh well. On Friday the little girl I watch had her birthday party, so we stopped in at that before heading down to Olympia for my aunt and uncle's house. They always have a big 4^th party weekend with people coming and going. There was a fire breather (picture)…didn’t think we’d be seeing that when we left the house that day. On Sunday morning Olga came over to meet the kitties. She and I went up to Bakery Nouveau for some delicious treats. She snuggled with the cats and noticed that Millie’s ears were filthy. She requested some Q-tips and went to town. I think she used like 15 Q-tips on little Millie. And then informed us that she probably had ear mites. Great. Then Sunday evening we headed up to Brian’s parents house for little Scarlett’s first birthday party.

I bought a huge half flat of strawberries the week before the 4^th (the berries were overflowing…it was probably enough to fill a full flat)…they were so sweet and yummy. I was trying to think of something to make with them with all of the activities we had going on and decided on strawberry salsa. Brian loved it, so I made three batches of it (super easy- pint of strawberries, 4 roma tomatoes, 1 jalepeno, couple cloves of garlic, juice of a lime, T of olive oil, and some cilantro). 

When Olga mentioned that Millie might have ear mites, I called the vet and changed the appointment we had scheduled for the following week (to get their booster shots). Unfortunately I had class when they were available to see the cats (paragraph one, again), so Brian had to take them by himself. I wrote up a list of questions for the vet about each one, along with their personality traits, etc…I got them all packed up in their box and sent Brian on his way. He said that Frank did great, just sat there and let the vet do his thing. Millie scratched and fought, and he said she looked sad. And she did have ear mites AND an ear infection, poor girl. So we have ear drops to give her every 12 hours…first couple of times that was rough, but she has gotten pretty used to it now. And her ears are much cleaner.Other than that, the vet said they are very healthy kittens, and that Frank probably won't be THAT gigantic. He is big, but also seems much bigger because Millie is actually a very small kitten. Frank is literally more than twice her size- she is 2.5 lbs and he is almost 6lbs. 

grandma with my little cousins

This weekend I went over to Ocean Shores with my fam. Brian had plans, so couldn’t make it, but I always love the ocean trips with everyone, so I was going…despite the test I have tomorrow. The weather at the ocean is usually freezing and windy and overcast, but the sun actually came out every day, and it was SO PRETTY. My aunt and I went running on the beach in the morning…it is so amazing how much I enjoy running on the beach…I haven’t been running much lately, but I wasn’t checking the time, wasn’t tired, my breathing was slow and easy, my legs felt great…ahhh, I wish I could run barefoot every day at the beach…I would be in such great shape! Brian text me that Millie missed me while I was gone and kept sitting in my spot. 

And because they are just so darn cute and I love them to pieces…here are a few kitten photos. Brian let me know that he bought a new remote control car 'for the cats'...

playing with the car

Size difference