Escape Artist

Little Miss trouble maker.

The day the horses came to live with us is the day Little Miss decided to explore the property a little. In my excitement to see the horses I didn't make sure the side door was shut all the way. This wouldn't be a problem if the only animals we have were Leia and Midnight. Leia would simply follow me around and eat horse food, and Midnight would sprawl out on the porch to soak up some sun. Little Miss, on the other hand, is not one to sit still and ponder life, she is more of the get out there and do things type of person, err cat.

An open door to the outside world with no humans to supervise her was just the opportunity she needed to explore her unexplored world. Which, for her, means the empty wooded lot next to our house.

After thoroughly welcoming the horses I came back to an open door and a missing cat. I checked her usual wandering locations to find absolutely no sign of her. This is when I started to freak out. Little Miss might be an adventurous cat, but she is an adventurous cat with no front claws and no idea what a poisonous snake is. To her a snake would be something fun to play with, something that looks similar to the strings I let her chase around the house.

After walking around the empty lot with a bag of tuna fish and no sign of a missing cat I knew it was time I went into the unexplored woods. The woods down in the south are not the same as the woods up north for a couple of reasons. One, the undergrowth is much more dense and prickly. Two, there are poisonous snakes. Three, there are poisonous spiders. Four, THERE ARE POISONOUS THINGS IN THERE THAT ARE WATCHING ME AND WANT TO EAT ME!!!

I may have been a little scared to go into the woods. For a girl who grew up in the woods of northeast Ohio, this is kind of hard to admit. Once I made it over the fence and through the densest ivy/weeds/may-be-poisonous-creatures-looking-at-me I started calling for the little run away. After a couple minutes of wandering around calling for the escape artist (and possibly freaking out the neighbors) I heard the most pitiful cry I have ever heard. Someone was lost, and didn't know how to get back home. I followed the cry, she followed her name, and we met beneath a scary looking fallen try that was sure to house a poisonous snake.

That cat was so happy to be found and so scared of something in those woods. She would not let me put her down until we were safely in the house. And she has not left that house since, although not because she didn't want to. I am not about to go searching for her in those woods anytime soon. She can stay inside for a little while longer.

Conquering IF

And now for a slightly different subject. If you are here to see pictures, skip the entire content of this post and go to the bottom.  There is a cute picture of a cat.  Now for the heavy stuff.

IF is a subject I have been reluctant to discuss on this blog. Mostly because this is a photography blog, partly because it is a subject rarely talked about in society, and  partly because I am also not looking for any pity.  I want to talk about it now because I know there are other people out there struggling with IF and I want them to know that they are not alone.

When the husband and I first started trying to have a baby IF meant:

If I get pregnant now I will have a summer baby!

If I get pregnant now we can announce the pregnancy at Christmas.

If I get pregnant now our baby will be 6 months old next Christmas.

As time went by our hopes where still high.

If I get pregnant now I will have a fall baby.

If I get pregnant now it would be the perfect Christmas present.

If I get pregnant now we can announce it at the Hubbies birthday party!

If I get pregnant now the baby will be 3 months old next Christmas.

Now things are a little different.

If I had gotten pregnant when we started trying I would have a 1 year old now.

If I ever get pregnant I don’t care when the baby is born.

If we didn’t wait so long to start trying, would I still be having these problems?

If one more person says, “It’s about time you guys have a baby”, I may punch them in the face.

If I never get pregnant, will I be ok with that?

If one more person announces their pregnancy will I break down in tears again?

IF stands for infertility, but as you can see it means so much more to those of us struggling to get pregnant.

I have come a long way in this struggle. I went from the excitement of starting our family, to fearful we may have problems achieving that goal, to bitter that everyone else seemed to get pregnant so easily, to accepting IF, and now to optimistic that I may  conquer IF.  I may not conquer it by having a child of my own, but I do know that one day I will have a child.

Of course, I am not optimistic everyday, and I still struggle with bitterness now and then.  Sometimes I still feel like crying when I hear a certain song, or see a baby in the mall.  But, that is not my everyday life now.  After 2 years of struggle I am finally at a point where I can do something about it.

After dealing with crappy student health insurance for the first year and a half of this journey we finally have amazing infertility coverage with the husband’s new job. I feel extremely blessed to have the insurance we have now, and I plan on taking every advantage of it to conquer IF.  

Yesterday we took the first step toward actually figuring out why I can’t get pregnant. I had a laparoscopy to look for blocked tubes and endometriosis that could be preventing me from getting pregnant.  It turns out my tubes are not blocked, and I didn’t have too much endometriosis, but I don’t go in to talk to my doctor until next week. So, I won’t know for sure if this was the problem until I talk to him.

Today I am feeling great.  Recovery hasn’t been too bad, and I am still feeling optimistic. If you are having the same procedure and want to know more about it feel free to contact me and I will be happy to tell you how everything went. I was lucky to have my sister with me, who had the same procedure last fall. Without her I would have felt lost and very anxious.

I plan on writing a few more posts about infertility for those who want to know how to deal with a friend/relative struggling with IF, and of course those who struggle with it themselves.  I will also try to keep you updated on how our conquering goes.

For more information about infertility here are some good websites to check out:

Resolve

Mayo Clinic

Blogs

99 Reasons to Laugh at Infertility

Stress Free Infertility

There are also some good support groups on Babycenter:

Actively Trying: The Next Level

Fertility Issues

I did not put this cat in the basket. The weirdo slept in that basket for several days until I put laundry in it.

Finally Home

I just got back from a week long trip up north to attend my sister-in-law's graduation from Vet school, and my husband's graduation from graduate school. Congratulations! You can now call me Mrs. Doctor Adams. After all of the excitement, visiting with family, seeing my friends, for the first time in my life I was excited to come back home.

When I was a kid I used to take summer trips to stay with my sister in Chicago. Some of those trips started as weekend family vacations, and only morphed into summer trips due to my inconsolable crying as we loaded into the car. I didn't want to go home. I have never wanted to go home. Everywhere else in the world was more exciting than home. Ultimately, my parents would let me stay with my sister, and I would happily wave goodbye as the rest of the family drove away.

This desire to be anywhere but home has carried into adulthood. I finally achieved my dream of living in Chicago (well, the suburbs), but every time we went to visit family back in Ohio I would never want to leave. I would never want to go home.

Now, I never want to leave this house. I feel like crying whenever I leave it. Maybe this honeymoon phase will end, maybe I will want to be anywhere but here some day, but right now this place feels more like "home" than anywhere else in the world. We are finally home, and I never want to leave.

As you can see, the animals love it too.

Inside pictures to come, as soon as I finish unpacking.

Little Boxes

My house is in boxes. Little boxes packed away in a storage pod. Everything I wanted to keep and move to our new house is in that little pod. A new house we don't have yet (and we won't have it for several months).

My mind is in so many places right now. I typed 3 different blog posts, deleting them all before settling on this one. I am getting the house ready to sell. I am preparing to buy a new house. I am still in school, working on two different projects right now. I am preparing to leave school. So many things to do right now, and not much time left to do it.

I think the thing I am looking forward to the most about moving to a new city is the weight that will be lifted from my shoulders. The house will be sold, the new house will be bought, and my research will be complete. My mind will be free to focus on something new instead of being split into little boxes.

The Wild Child

There's one in every family. That child that causes trouble. The instigator. Little Miss is "the one" in our family. She has several names around here, "chubs", "chubbie", "no", "stop that", "brat", "crazy". All of these very fitting for our insane cat.

You may remember that Little Miss was our foster cat. We were taking care of her while my sister and her husband were stationed in Hawaii (poor them). Well, the sister has been back on the mainland for over 6 months now. I may have stolen the cat, or just not given her back. She is ours now.

Don't let the sleeping cat below fool you. These moments are rare. Little Miss's favorite thing to do is knock things off of high places. She doesn't care what it is, and she usually doesn't intend on playing with it. The challenge of reaching something high above her head. The thrill of watching it fall to the floor. That's what she lives for. That, and terrorizing the older cat.

Bully. That should be her other name. I must yell, "stop that" a bajillion times a day as I watch Little Miss fly through the air and wrap her fuzzy arms around Midnight's neck (the older cat). Midnight is not impressed with Little Miss's ninja skills.

Even though she is a real pain in the butt a lot of the time, she has her moments where I know I could never give her back. She loves to lay on the hubby's chest before bed. Every morning, and every time we come home after a long day at school, Little Miss follows me around and cries until I pick her up. She just wants to be held and loved, and I will never deny her that.

I and Love and You

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty!

Nap Time

Little Miss is on vacation in Ohio with her real mom, my sister. The Chubster is now reeking havoc on other non-suspecting victims (cats) with her sharp teeth. We miss you Little Miss (and by "we" I mean me, because Midnight is having a ball without you).

Little Miss in TTV

I have been focusing on Little Miss lately because Midnight always wants to rub her face on the camera and won't stand still long enough for me to take her picture (in case you were wondering).

Beautiful

This month I have decided to participate in the Shutter Sister's One Word Project. Last month I had a photography low, so I want to pick things back up this month. This month the word is Beautiful. I look forward to the challenge of finding beauty in everyday things. If you would like to participate just join the Shutter Sister's One Word Flickr Group.

Wittle Missy Poo

For my sister, so she can have a better picture of the kitty. There are more pictures to come of little miss chubby butt.

Seeing the World from a Different Perspective

I have been trying to look at the good in things recently. I have been trying to do the things that make me happy instead of sitting around doing nothing at all. I have been in a funk for a long time, and I couldn't find my way out. Things have been looking up, and I have been seeing more and more of the old me peaking out now and then.

How many times can I say "I" in one paragraph? That brings me to the other side of me. The side that took initiative to help out others. The side that wasn't all about me, me, me. The side that was compassionate of the feelings around me. Happy and compassionate. I miss that side of me. I need to start seeing the world differently. It's not all about me, but doing things that make me happy is one step in the right direction. No one likes a sourpuss bringing them down. When I am done working on "me" I can focus on that resolution over there <---- on the side bar and start helping others again.

One step at a time, that is the best we can do sometimes.


My motivation for the past couple of weeks: Erin Vey She takes pretty pictures of dogs.

Out of the Darkness; Into the Light (ABC Wednesday: Cat)

Sometimes all we can do to come out of the darkness is stick one hand out at a time. Or paw, whatever your preference.

I realized that I haven't participated in ABC Wednesday in a long time, and I need to get back into it. Then I realized that the post I already had for today started with the letter C, cat :) Perfect! For more ABC Wedesday head on over here.

Baby Kitties

ABC Wednesday: "J"

Joke

So, the other day I was telling a very funny joke, and I guess Little Miss thought it was funny too. Ok, so I didn't tell a funny joke, and Little Miss wasn't laughing, she was yawning. But I thought this photo looks like she is laughing, and I didn't have anything good for J, so I thought of joke. Maybe she could be Jolly, that's a J. Give me a little bit of a break :)

For more ABC Wednesday head on over here.

Photohunt: Colorful

When Little Miss was "fixed" a couple of weeks ago she came home sporting a bright yellow bandage where her IV was. It was a great color on her with her white fur :)

Go check out some more colorful shots over at PhotoHunter.

This is, unfortunately, my last regular post for a couple of months. I need to concentrate and get ready for my qualifying exam, so I might not have time to post everyday. I will try to get in a post every now and then. Thanks for sticking with me, and wish me luck on my exam (I will definitely need it).
___________________________________________________________________

Waiting

Little Miss likes to wait for us when we get home. I'm not sure if she actually waits for us all day, or if she just knows what time we get home and comes to meet us, but everyday she is sitting there, waiting.

Go check out more critters, or add a picture of your own over at

Hilarious Floors

I thought I would give you a sneak peak at our brand new floors. We spent two weekends laying these babies. They are so beautiful. If I was a polygamist I would marry them. Every time I look down at the floors they make me all warm inside. All that is left to do is cut the underlayment and put up the quarter round. Another weekend should finish them off.

This is the hallway that makes a great slip and slide (minus the water).


This is the guest room. It needs some art on the wall, but it is almost there. Do you see Leia sneaking up on Little Miss, crazy animals. I'm not sure how to hide the bed risers, but we need them for the extra storage, any ideas?


The hilarious part is watching the animals slip and slide all over them. We got Leia all round up the other day just so we could see her slide across the floor. Which lead to us sliding across the floor, and fun was had by all. The most fun is when one of them jumps off the bed, their feet slide out from under them, and they fall flat on their face. I know, I am a terrible parent, but it is hilarious.

A full before and after showcase will be posted when we are done with everything. For anyone who is interested, the floors are Swiftlock (kronotek) laminate in Acacia from Lowes.

For the love of boxes

Funny Story. I had this blog planned out about my camera being sick. I thought my light meter was broken and was asking my smart camera friends for help. Well, when I went to post the EXIF data for the "sample" picture I was showing I found my mistake. So, the tip of the day is: If your images are turning out darker than expected check your exposure. Somehow mine got set to -2.7. I'm not sure how or when this happened, but I was about to go insane trying to figure out what was wrong. I'm glad it was my fault and not the camera's though.

On to the real blog. This is Midnight's favorite time of year. All of the boxes come out of hiding and she gets to play. Her favorite game is hide and seek, and for once she played it peacefully with Little Miss. No hissing at all, surprising.



It's your turn in the box.



I think you got a little shmuts on your face.

ABC Wednesday: "L"

This one was easy for me since I have two "L"'s living with me.

Leia is a funny animal. I think she is an alien because every time I ask her if she is an alien her ears perk up and she tilts her head. She must be an alien.





Little Miss going in for the attack.



Kisses from Little Miss.





I Love my animals.

To see more beautiful "L" posts head over the Mrs. Nesbitt's Place