Victory Rewind: Congratulations, Pittsburgh Steelers!

I know i'm rollin' a little bit backwards here (due to my bad procrastination habit) but I thought I'd post these pics anyway just in case!

For those of you who couldn't make it to the victory parade.... you didn't miss much. This is what I saw....

(Me and my work friend Christina - aren't we cute?)

Did I really see Santonio 3 times! Or, was it just my imagination?

(Next year guys please wear your jerseys.... I can barely recognize you with them on let alone without them from the view of the city-county bldg. steps!)

Oh yeah, here is my video of the stage.... ha! Funny.

Lesson here: If you were upset because you couldn't take off work and you thought you were going to miss something important.... you didn't.

lam

No Power, No Problem!

Since the "class 2 hurricane-like winds" managed to take out our power last Thursday night… what better thing to do then prepare to "camp" in our own freezing, cold, scary dark house! (Or at least Matt thought so!) After I was late for work Thursday morning, got stuck in traffic on my way in, called the electric company only to find out we were stuck like this until Friday the 13th (go figure), Matt decided to come home from work Thursday night, light about fifty-million candles, accuse me of trying to burn the house down, build a fire in the fireplace and ask me if I wanted to blow up the air mattress so we can sleep next to it. Really? Both of our parents live within like 3 miles of us.. (and both offered for us to spend the night). But what could be more exciting then trying to rough it out ourselves? (Especially if you're a boy.) Fine. I'd better get used to it. Like my Dad says, "We live in an area that when the dog farts the power goes out." (In our case it's when a cat farts.) So we made macaroni & cheese (gas stove), ate, put all of our perishibles into coolers and packed them with ice (which in turn Matt thought would be a good time to CLEAN the fridge), strung flash lights in the bathroom, got showers, and chilled (literally) by the fireplace…. Until about 9:00…. When the neighbor called and asked us if we knew the power was back on since all of our lights were still out! My reaction: "Yes! I don't have to wake up at 6AM and drive to my parents house to get ready for work!" Matt's reaction: "Aww, man!". Apparatly he was having a blast? We sat there for a minute until he finally said in a somewhat disappointed voice, "just turn the lights on". No problem! And I didn't even miss "The Office!" Can it really get much better than that? Yes, it can. Matt said he was going to go down to the basement and check the furnace to make sure it came on… well, when we woke up at 6AM with ice cubes for noses he realized - he never did check it. His response: "Well, I said I was going to but I didn't really think I had to." Really, now? You didn't think you would have to check to make sure the furnace came back on in the middle of the winter?
lam

The "New" Kitty

Hmmm…. Where do I start?! First of all, we've been seeing this kitty around the neighborhood for quite a few months now. He is a very sweet and friendly orange tabby. Although not exactly fair to the cat with no-name… or, "The Cat" we named him "Thompson". He is really one of the sweetest cats I have ever met. Here's the story: Monday, January 5th, 2009: it was a cold, breezy Monday night when Thompson came to our porch. We were making dinner and from the kitchen we heard these strange crying meows coming from outside. Low and behold, he was back. We knew he was around but hadn't seen him for about a month or two. This time, he had a bloody red patch on the side of his face. =( We shared some of Cat's food with him and put a warm bed and blanky on the porch in case he needed a place to stay warm for the night. (Our hearts wanted to bring him in but unfortunately, our minds couldn't exactly agree on it.) We really didn't know what to do because we both have really big hearts when it comes to animals. We kept pacing around the house stressing ourselves out by talking about our different options while Thompson slept on his bed on the porch (and ate every morsel of food!). I told Matt that night that instead of us getting all worked up about it we would just leave it up to God and he would help us make the right decision. (I wanted to ease Matt's mind because I knew how much he was worried about him - he's such an animal lover… it's so sweet.) The next day Matt called me at work and said he felt guilty for not bringing in the orange kitty. We both knew he was in need of veterinary care and most likely a warm, loving home too. That night we put food out on the porch and called for him but he never came back. We really thought we weren't going to see him for another month or so. The next night (Wednesday, Jan. 7th) he did come back! Either God answered our prayers or he must have taken a liking to us or both. (I'm not quite sure yet why God wanted us to go broke though! $250 in Vet appointments later... and more to come...) I'm sure there's a lesson there. Anyway, we brought him in and made him a kitty haven in the basement with yummy, chicken and fish flavored morsels, fresh, cool water, warm blankets to lay on and a few toys to bat around. Can it really get much better than that? He was one happy (and lucky) cat that night! By Friday Matt had taken some time off work to take him to see the Vet. We found out the poor kitty needed antibiotics (for the cut on his face), worm medicine, flea medicine, a variety of vaccines and a plain ol'darn good checkup! Niether the Vet nor us are exactly sure what happened to his face? He could have gotten hit by a car and slid across the ground, or, gotten into a fight with an another animal? I'm mean really we have no idea where he's been or what happened to him but we do know he definitely needed that checkup. The Vet did say cats can travel as far as 10 miles or more! Over the next couple of days we came home from work and took turns spending time with him in the basement. See, here's the reason he is in the basement: According to the Vet, there is a possibility he could have feline leukemia or feline aids which could take 6 months to show up positive in a test if he would have gotten it say maybe from that cut on his face like if he got into a fight with another cat that had it or something like that. (It is actually more common than you think.) So, in order to protect black cat's health we got him vaccinated for feline leukemia but since it takes about two months for the vaccine to get through his system we need to keep them separated until at least March 13th. And trust me, i've been counting down the days! It is really hard to see Thompson living in the basement. He likes to snuggle us and be petted so we know he wants to be upstairs with us in the worst way! It's definitley a work in progess but eventually we will (hopefully) have two happy and healthy cats in our lives! They are both so different and have such unique personalities that they really are great additions to our little family of two. I posted some pics of Thompson. His cut is looking a lot better since the day I took the pics. The anitbiotics have really helped it heal. There is a part of us that worries he is someone else's pet and that that person misses him very much. We did check Craigslist and the News Stations' lost & found pet sections online. And the neighbor's house since we started seeing him about the same time she moved in. (But since we found out she is in jail right now she isn't getting him back even if he is hers.) On that note, we found nothing! I just hate the thought of knowing I possibly stole someone else's cat! Sounds silly - but true! But I also hate the thought of knowing that he had spent most of his time outdoors bearing the frigid, wintery weather conditions in need of medical care. Even though the basement isn't the warmest room in the house it has to be better than the cold, wet snow! At this point, we're just hoping for the best and looking forward to introducing black cat to his healthy, new orange brother =)
lam

SuperScratcher

I couldn't pry him off of it if I tried! Lazy Cat. That is what his name should be.. lazycat. At least if he actually scratched the thing (like he's supposed to) he'd be getting some exercise! (His Vet calls him "o-v-e-r-weight"! Yikes! That's partly my fault - Apparently, I feed him too much =) So all he does is lay on it, sleep on it, cuddle with it, hide behind it, attack it... and lick the catnip off of it. But no matter what the stuipid thing does I'll always love him and think it's the cutest thing ever! If anyone is thinking right now "Geez, Lee Ann is turning into one of those crazy cat ladies!" (Especially now that I've adopted another!) Please TELL ME! I don't want to be a CRAZY CAT LADY! The cats are like our babies though - "the boys" - we call them and we treat them like kids if you ask me! We play with them when we get home from work and bring home toys when we go to Wal-Mart. OMG we sound so loony. The funny part is this would be so "acceptable" if they were DOGS! But because they are cats we sound crazy! Don't we?! Haha.. Below is a video of "no-name" or "black cat" playing with his cheesy chase (one of his "Wal-Mart" toys!) - it's SO cute though! (As you will see in the video - I had to help him out a few times.. =)
lam

The Things We've Been Up To!

Christmas completely wore me out! I'm done. I am more than happy to wait another 12 months for it. Maybe this year I'll start preparing a little earlier (yeah, right… doesn't everyone say that this time of year?). The decorating, the cleaning and visiting and cleaning and shopping and wrapping and cleaning and eating and drinking and partying and wrapping and shopping and then undecorating, tree removal and cleaning again… need I say more? And to top it all off I learned this year that guys will never "get" it. See, they leave it all up to us by excusing themselves with that famous line that goes something like, "Well, you're so good at it." Shouldn't you try it at least once! And really, what man could be that bad at shopping (well… nevermind that one), wrapping (well, okay there's another), cleaning (OK - NEVERMIND!). He's right, they ARE bad at it! But he did a darn good job at cutting down our tree and hauling it home! Needless to say, I became completely overwhelmed while tackling my Holiday duties. Somehow.. a time that is supposed to be joyous and full of life left me with the after-holiday blues and completely drained, with 0 energy to spare! In the meantime, on Jan. 7th, we adopted a new kitty. He was a stray and he requires a lot of attention but I keep telling myself that he's worth it because most likely we saved his little life. =) Don't worry - you'll hear more about him - he's gonna get his own post.
Some other things that have been going on… Matt's been gearing up for the races this year. Working hard to get his bike together for his first race of the year on March 1st. See, we're doing the whole GNCC series this year. Well, not me, but Matt and Jeff are. That means.. 13 races.. at least 10 different states and a lot of hard work on his end and patience on mine! Like i've said before though, it's definitely worth it. I get to see so many different places, even if it's just a small town with a barn and a cow =) I get to see it.
Just recently, I treated myself to my very first laptop! What a luxury! Of course I will use it for Real Estate and also when I go back to school but even for "blogging" it is a nice addition to our home. Afterall, I sit at a desk all day. In no way do I want to come home and sit at another one! With the laptop I feel more mobile =)
Hmmm... what else? I don't know! We seem to always have something up our sleeve! I'll keep you posted!

lam

"Traditional" Christmas Day '08

Travel, travel, travel…. Now I know it is no where near what other people have to go through on the Holidays but I feel like we spent more time rushing around from place to place then we did actually enjoying the day! Since we didn't get to bed until around 2 a.m. the night before we "accidentally" slept in on Christmas Day =)

Matt's mom was having brunch around 10:00 a.m. so that was stop no. 1. Orrin and Wendy came (Matt's brother and sister-in-law) and brought little Derik to open the presents Santa left for him at Grandma's house. Matt and I were SO excited to give D his gift from us!

We bought him his first Harley (this is one special present since Mom, Dad, Uncle Matt and Grandpap all ride Harleys!). It truly is the cutest little thing… not your typical rocking horse - those are for girls! D got a rockin' Harley. Although a little too young to understand it now, in a year or two, I think he'll really appreciate it =) I posted some pics of Derik and his new bike. Actually, these are the only pictures I took that day! And they are by far the cutest! We exchanged gifts with the family and shared a wonderful meal together (thanks to Mitzi - one of the best cooks I know =)

After helping clean up and letting our food settle it was on to Grandma P's house (my mom's mom). She was having dinner at 3. We were already so stuffed by the time we got there our bellies couldn't handle much more! But thankfully Gram was already prepared with extra empty cool-whip containers to fill with goodies for us to take home with us. And man did we eat for the next couple of days! We hung out with the fam for awhile but still had one more person to see… Matt's Dad.We planned for him to come visit that evening but once we got home he called and said he wasn't feeling good and that he wasn't going to be able to make it. =( By that time we were hungry again so of course we heated up our leftovers! Gotta love Holiday leftovers! It was about 8:00 or so by the time Matt and I got to exchange gifts with eachother. This was a first for us since our usual is to get up early Christmas morning and exchage but since Christmas Eve left us so exhausted this year we just didn't make it out of bed in time! I think we both had a very nice Christmas this year. We were definitely spoiled by our families and by eachother but feel very blessed to have such wonderful, loving and giving people in our lives.
lam

"Traditional" Christmas Eve '08

Ever since Pap died in '01 and Gram had to move into a smaller home, Mom has taken over the role of hosting our "Christmas Eve Tradition"… (basically, that means - when Dad's side of the family gets together and anything goes!) This year we had the pleasure of being joined by Great Grandma Jean (82) and Great Grandpa Rich (76, or 77?? ….how about just plain old - OLD!) to help us celebrate. And what a celebration it was! As for a little family history... I don't get to see them too often. Maybe once or twice per year. Our busy schedules (afterall, they both do still work!) and 45 min. drive to and fro, unforturnately, keeps us at our distance. However, I wish I could spend more time with the two of them. I learned that after this past Christmas Eve. There is a lot of history there… the experience and wisdom that comes with age, and not to mention life's lessons that they've learned along the way, as well as, important historical events that they've witnessed and lived through, etc. and if I don't make time to take it all in soon, I may never know at all. Something has always fascinated me about the "senior" generation. They all got "stories", ya know? Some may not be as "interesting" as others… but some fascinate the heck out of me. For some reason… I don't know, I've always been that way.

Anyhow, traditional Christmas Eve was pretty smooth sailing this year. Some of you that know me know that when that side of the family gets together it sometimes isn't always smooth! But, typically, everyone's been getting along just fine these days - or so it seems. Now that I am out of my house at home, I don't always get the "scoop" on the family drama (if you know what I mean). But like I said, things have been going well lately. Another one of those lessons that most often comes with age, experience and well-earned wisdom ; ) It is okay to disagree with one and another at times... As it is a normal human reaction that everyone experiences...

But, on the other hand, drawn out disagreements and family feuds are just a waste of precious time. (<--This is the same lesson I've been trying to teach Matt. Not that we fight a lot but if a disagreement arises, there is no use letting it turn into anything other than that. If we do, we're wasting time. And you only get to live this life once so why not make the most out of the precious time that we have?) I believe "Forgiveness" is what that lesson is called. And it is a lesson that could take a lifetime to learn if you let it. I am right on cue with the season here, aren't I? Wait to go ME! So, I've included some pictures of our gift exchanging, the fam, and some other misc. things (like the bowl of chips we were eating -> (For the record, I didn't take that one) for you to enjoy. Also, included in the post is a video like you've never seen before. If you don't believe me… ask yourself this question? How many people in their 70's and/or 80's (a bit intoxicated might I add) have you ever seen play boxing on Nintendo Wii? Enjoy!

lam