Happy Happy Joy Joy - the story of how we got our kitty with the unusual markings

Hello and Happy Happy Joy Joy to you in 2019!

I wanted to share a cute, quick story of how we obtained Happy, our 4th kitty and his crazy unusual markings (and to wish you a happy new year)!

Introducing Happy - the kitty

You might be thinking, now how does someone totally allergic to cats end up with four of them?  Well we rescued a few, and one even adopted us. (I'm most likely just a saint, who's love for animals outweighs my pesky love of breathing... that's the ticket). 
 FYI - I'll post our four-kitty back story at the end of this post for those that are interested), 

but now onto the mysterious little story how Happy became ours.

So my middle child loves leopards. She loves cats.  She loves animals! Two years in a row she had a cat-themed birthday party.  One year was a leopard party, one year it was a kitty cat party.

 

All the kids adopted stuffed kittens and dressed like kitties, and made collars for them

What she really really wished for was a Bengal kitten, because they look just like a mini leopard. We already had what I thought was too many cats, and of course bangle kittens can be very pricey. 

A Bengal cat... adorable, very leopard like, and often pricey!

Plus we weren't going to spend a ton of money on a highly energetic and expensive cat, when most of our cats were rescues. I said almost sarcastically one day to her, look, if a Bengal kitten randomly shows up on our doorstep, we can totally keep it.

As it got closer to her birthday, we though maybe we could find a kitty on Craigslist or somewhere local that needed a home, looked like a Bengal, but of course without the hefty price tag. After days of searching my husband found a very good candidate.
 

What's not to love about this tiny little face?

He was striped, with spots on his tummy, very unusual markings all over in leopard colors that were quite beautiful. He called the lady to get more information, and sadly she said sorry, someone was already coming that day to pick him up. Boo. We were pretty disappointed because he seemed so purrfect, but luckily we had not told the girls about any of this.

The very next day, she called us back and said the other people never showed up, would we like to come see him. We said YES and she gave us her address.

Check this out, she lived IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, down the street, 

like SIX houses away!  (practically on our doorstep).  


We told the girls and took a short walk down the street to see the kitty.  He was SO adorable. 
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Instant Happiness!

Here he is looking so sweet and tiny.

Baby Happy

 He had spots on his tummy, he looked like a mini leopard.  

Look at that leopard tummy!

We fell in love.  We took him home.

My middle child named him "Happy" because she was so very happy! (Plus, our other cats all have 'H' names (Hemi, Haley, Henry - and now Happy)

Eva and Happy!

So Happy became a part of our family.  He lived up to his name and made everyone a little happier!

Smiles all around!

As he got a little bigger, we noticed something a bit unusual. His stripes formed readable letters. We were totally SHOCKED when we realized what it spelled.

Hello world!  Live, from the super soft blanket.

On one side of his body, the word spelled out "got" (like "got milk").

See the "got"in the center of his body?

 I will trace the letters so you can see it better:

His right side spells "got"

One the OTHER side of his body, the stripes spelled out "JOY"

"JOY"

 Here's the traceable letters:

We actually couldn't believe it!

Not. Kidding. His stripes spelled JOY! His name is HAPPY!!!

That's right, this random kitty who practically landed on our doorstep, who looked like a little leopard, whom we named Happy because he brought my Eva joy, has the words "Got Joy" on his body!

Happy - meant to be a part of our family

It's one of those goose bump moments where you just know something was just meant to be!!!

So I thought this would be the happiest of stories to start off the 2019 year with, and I wanted to wish a happy HAPPY new year to you and yours!!!

Wishing this new year brings you happiness!!




*Here's the four-kitty back story for those that are interested:

We lived in a town house when we were first married when a feral kitty showed up at our back door. I fed him tuna because that's all I had on hand, he was hungry, and of course (well I know now) after the tuna, he never left. He was mostly an outdoor kitty and so I didn't have to worry about my allergies (he didn't want to come in). After we moved to our new house, we took the kitty with us but sadly one summer night a few years later, he didn't come home. Heartbroken we searched for weeks around the neighborhood and all the shelters with no luck. While we were at the shelter, about a month later, we did look at some other cats that needed to be adopted.  In box #2 was a little kitty that we took into a room and he instantly loved us. We decided to take him home. He purred like a little engine and so we named him Hemi.  I also thought it was a sign that he was in box #2, he was cat #2 for us.  

Hemi and Vivian when she was a baby

Hemi also was an indoor/outdoor kitty, and that was ALL the cats we were going to have... because of my allergies... Ha. that's funny now.

Hemi - all grown up and regal looking (we think he's part main coon)

So one day several years later, we were over at my father-in-law's house and they had a little female kitten, orange and white with blue eyes.  She was the softest, fluffiest, kitty ever. 

Haley - fluffy and so so soft.

She was a Manx breed (without a tail), and she didn't have a home. I took one look at her and told my husband (much to his shock) that she was coming home with us. I surprised myself actually, but they didn't have a home for her, the last female of the litter, and something about her said she needed to come home with us. We named her Haley. She's a sweet but very shy kitty. She only likes quiet people and adores the girls. If you come to my house you might never see her. She stays in mostly one room upstairs. She adores me.  She sleeps on my hip at night. She purrs like crazy. 

Haley two days ago, sleeping on my hip

Note: I think I've built up a tolerance with my allergies. I am not bothered by the cats unless I touch them and then touch my eyes or face. I just wash my hands and vacuum a lot. Needless to say I went from a dog person to a cat person since being married, which rather shocked my whole family.

So two kitties is way more than I ever planned to own. We were good. Then a few years later a very pale orange kitty followed the girls home. They kept calling him "orange kitty" but he was so pale, I joked he looked like the ghost of an orange kitty. He literally camped out on my doorstep, curled on our front mat like he owned the place. I'm not sure if there was an invisible sign outside our house that said "these people are suckers for cats" or "cats welcome" or what, but it was freezing outside and he stayed right on our front mat. I felt so bad, he was so skinny. I gave him some tuna, because I was making some for lunch (see my pattern) and then bam. He was ours.

Eva taking care of Henry when he first adopted us and came inside.  He was very grateful.

(Note: Well we took him to the vet first to make sure he wasn't tagged or chipped, put notices out in the neighborhood to make sure he wasn't someone's pet already. When no one responded after a good amount of time, we gave him his shots and chipped him). We also gave him his name, which is officially "The Ghost of King Henry VIII" or Henry for short (mostly due to my love of all things in the Tudor period, plus his super pale color).

Henry and Eva are still great pals to this day.

So that is the story of how we have so many cats.  Happy came along a few years back and completed our cat family.

So make the most of this year ahead! Adopt a pet, add a friend to the family, love each other and treat each other with all kindness - all year through!

Small Resolution - Big Impact

Well happy happy New Year!  How did 2014 get here so fast? It seems like the days keep going by faster and faster, as we fill our lives with an endless whirlwind of activities.  

If trends continue, this upcoming year will also fly by in a flash, and before we know it, 2015 will be here.  Are there any changes you can make today that will have an effect on the entire year?  Well of course there are the big things:  losing weight, becoming a better person, taking better care of yourself, and vowing to stay away from toxic people, to name a few.  Did you know that most resolutions by the first week of January have already fallen by the wayside for most people?  What if I told you there is a really small thing you can do on a daily basis that can have a major impact in your life?  I happen to know this, because it was my resolution from last year.  Now that 365 days have passed, I can report back to you the dramatic results. Wanna know what it was??  Well it had to do with smart phones.  

Now don't get me wrong... I love me some smart phone.  They are super handy, helpful (hello GPS), full of traffic maps, weather maps, it's a camera, it's a family calendar, it's an interactive shopping list, it's a gaming station, it's sometimes a busy mom's only connection with the outside world.  I can video chat with my step-daughter and her new baby 2750 miles away.  My future foodie-loving 6 year old can call me in to take a picture of her beautiful dinner to post on facebook...

She was right... it was quite lovely.. and tasty too

With a smart phone my middle child and I can take a selfie in the parking lot when we are celebrating an extra great school day and send it to daddy at work and family that live out of state.

I can update the Costco list for my hubby while he is driving home and he knows exactly what we need. (sweet potato fries and 2 gallons of milk please) It's genius really.

So, don't flee in terror.  I am not suggesting to chuck your smart phone into the river and hide from all technology.  I did, however, at the beginning of last year, read a very inspired blog entitled "How to miss a childhood" from Hand's Free Mama that really drove home a point.  A really big point.  (PS, If you haven't seen her post before, feel free to take a second and read it. She goes over some really powerful insights into technology and how easily it can become an  addiction/obsession)   Her overall point in that blog post is that technology has become a distraction. You can miss out on life happening right in front of you.  As I continued to read, I realized some of the things in her post I was doing.  Sometimes I was staring at my smart phone (or computer screen) more than I was interacting with the actual humans around me, both big and small.  It made me feel so guilty!  Let me tell you, if you are a mom and don't feel guilt, you are doing it wrong!  You are always wondering if you are doing enough, NOT doing enough, are you on the right track, are you completely off track.  WHAT Track??

So, feeling bad about using your smart phone is not one more thing you need to throw on the pile of mommy guilt we tend to heap upon ourselves.   I read somewhere that people tend to check their smart phone (facebook, clock, texts) about every 6 minutes.  That adds up to over 150 times a day.  That can turn into a pretty big chunk of your day, because as soon as you start looking at the interwebs, you can always easily find new and interesting things to see.  

How many times have you been at a park, bouncy house, or a soccer game and seen a line of parents only half watching the game, but mostly watching their phones?

I hate to say it, but the kids KNOW you are not paying attention.  They sense this little device in your hand is much more important than them. They know that only a certain percent is invested in them.  On the flip side, of course you don't want them to think the entire world revolves around them at the center of the universe either. It's all about balance. It's about being in the present.  This picture on pinterest cracks me up every time I see it:

But seriously, how true is it?!  We just can not get enough of these little handy devices.

After reading the blog, I wasn't looking for a massive change like unplugging from the world.  Just a small change.  Something I could easily do when it came to choosing between looking at a screen, or looking at my kids.  So I decided on that day one year ago... 

I vowed:  If I had the phone in my hand and was using it when a child approached, I would immediately put it down.

That's it.  Doesn't seem like much, right?

Every time my girls came into a room and over to me, I put the phone down.  Even turned it upside down.  I held them in my arms.  They sat on my lap and we snuggled.  I made a point to look in their eyes when they were asking me whatever question they came to talk to me about.   I tried to do it for the entire year.  They would come up, phone would go down.   Like I said, it wasn't a huge change... but it did make a big change in my heart.  Kids are only going to be little for a short time.  They are only going to want to hold your hand and sit in your lap for a few short years.  Choosing to promote human interaction over an electronic device can not only be a good example for them, but so invest good things into your child's life.  I love this sign I came across the other day.

By the way, this doesn't just work on kids.  Putting down your technology and paying attention to those around you totally works on spouses and significant others too!  So maybe challenge yourself a little this year.  My rewards this year were a lot more hugs, a lot more snuggles,  a lot more conversations that might not have happened, a lot more looking into my kids eyes and really listening to what they have to say, a lot more trust being built between us, a lot more focusing on the really important things, and a lot more participation in the things going on around me.  

Like I said, it was a small resolution but it ending up having a pretty BIG impact.  Happy 2014.  Make it a good one.

Thirty-One Nights of Different Dinners

So let me first of all wish you all a very happy new year!  How does your family ring in the new year by the way?  A big party?  Bang some pots and pans?  Get together with good friends?  

Our new years was a little on the low-key side, we stayed home with the girls, had a comforting dinner, toasted with some apple grape sparkling cider and played puzzles and games all night, which culminated into banging pots and pans and lighting a few sparklers when the clock struck 12am.  They were so excited to be allowed to stay up until midnight.  We've also been fighting off a couple of cold and flu bugs that have been making the rounds through our family, so we rang in 2013 warm and cozy, and keeping our germs to ourselves (you're welcome).

We also have another silly tradition I started sometime back in college.  We call it, "the first flush of the year".  It's the symbolic and silly "flushing away" of the old year and getting a clean, fresh bowl for the upcoming year.  This year was pretty uneventful, as the girls were basically confused on why we were doing it, but gleefully flushed along with us.  Here's a pic (and an explanation) of a few years back, my friend and my husband in what looks like a very odd picture.  Only they are innocently celebrating the first flush of the year.

This picture seems so jarring if you don't know the back story.  We crack ourselves up.

But I wanted to share with you the one gift I have given to my husband every year for the last four years.  It's something he looks forward to with great anticipation.  I always tuck it into the top of his stocking (the morning after Santa comes) and he gets so excited about it.  He brags about it daily on facebook actually.  What do I give him you ask?  Well we've affectionately started calling it

The 31 nights of different dinners for the month of January

That's right, what started out as a causal wish a few years ago that we should try new recipes and not have any left overs for dinner for one month, became a challenge.  Could I really not repeat any meals over the course of a month?  How could I not have any left overs?  It's so nice to make a big batch of something and "live" off it a few times during a busy week.  So let me break it down, here are our ground rules for the 31 nights of different dinners.

1.  Each night in the month of January, a different meal will be served
2.  New recipes will be tried and see if they fit in to our regular rotation
3.  Not everything has to be from scratch.  I reserve the right to serve pancakes
    or fish sticks, or go out for burgers one night if our schedule is tight.  The only 
   rule is we then can't have hamburgers or pancakes more than one night that month.
4. If there are leftovers it is perfectly ok for hubby to take them to work for his
    lunches.  The only rule is that I can't serve that meal again for a dinner.
5. The kids are rather picky, they should try the new dishes, but I will try to have
    an alternative or vary the recipe so they will eat it too.

Some BENEFITS:

So that is it.  It's way more challenging than I thought at first.  Here are some of my issues I have had to work through:

First, This helps me cook less.  I come from a big family where everything was made in a 9x13 pan.  I am currently only cooking for me and my husband, and the girls tend to eat like birds.  Learning how to cut recipes in half has been an eye opener for me.

Second, This helps me create a menu. In every day life I normally have about 1-2 weeks of meals in my head I know we have on hand.  They are not for any particular night, I just pull them out when needed and what the schedule calls for.  For this challenge I really don't want to end up serving two of the same type of thing back to back (Two chickens, or two meats, etc.)  I want to spread them out and mix them up a bit.  Even adding vegetarian options here and there in the forms of soups and salads (Shhh, don't tell hubby).  I tend to write out every meal we like, then make a list of things I want to try. Then I try and space them out evenly so we get a variety.

Thirdly, This makes me resourceful. I really try to go through our pantry and see what kind of meal I can make out of what we already have. One year I tried champagne risotto because someone had left a mini bottle of champagne (and we don't really drink) behind in our fridge and I though what the heck. Thank goodness I wasn't blogging then, let's just say I'm going to have to try that one again, as it turned out I didn't have enough chicken stock to make it work.  Good flavor, but dry.  This year will be extra challenging because our finances our extremely tight, so making the occasional "fancy" meal is going to be extra tricky as well

Fourthly, This makes me plan ahead. I'm still very busy and I needed to find tips and tricks to make some meals quicker.  I now tend to cook the proteins once but double the amount so it's enough to make two meals and freeze the other half.  So if I know we are going to have taco salads one night, I will make 2 lbs of taco meat and freeze half.  Then, a week or two later I can make my three-cheese Mexican soup by just defrosting the other half of the meat and adding my soup ingredients.  This way I can still get quick meals to the table on those nights when we are extra busy.

So that is the challenge I have given myself for the first 31 days of 2013.  It's really turned into a great idea because we have added a ton of new recipes to our regular meal line up through this project.  So I might not post every day what we are having for dinner, but do a weekly round up of things we have made.  If I try a new recipe though, I will post it here and share with you.  Thank you so much, and have a wonderfully blessed new year!



 

The first flush of the year

So Happy New Year 2009! I hope you had a merry Christmas and a happy little New Year. We have a little tradition in our household, which started way back in college. I invented the very appropriately named "the first flush of the year". Excitedly we would all wait around for the stroke of midnight like the rest of the good people of earth, but shortly after kissing our loved ones when the clock struck twelve, we would dash through the house to find any available toilet to flush. Gleefully we would press the plunger down and joyously shout "HAPPY NEW YEAR". It symbolized the flushing away the old year and getting that clean fresh bowl for the new one. These handsome display models here show you directly how to get the most bang for your buck for this new tradition, try sharing the whole experience with a friend or two. Try explaining this picture in any other context and you're sure to get some funny looks. So even though 2010 is a long way off, resolve right here and now to add the first flush of the year to your next New Years repertoire.

Happy 2008!

So I only have a few moments to myself here to welcome you to 2008! You see I'm the busy mother of three girls under three. Yes I'm crazy, yes I'm fertile, yes as I'm typing this I'm afraid that it just suddenly got quiet in the next room and all manner of disasters could of occurred with the oldest two even though they are 20 feet away and within earshot. OK, I'm back. False alarm. The oldest one has crawled into the crib with the middle one and they are singing and jumping. Hey at least they are self contained.

So even though I really love blogging the actual odds of getting to chance to do it are slim to none. Well if the planets aligned and the gods looked favorably on me (thus in that maybe 2/3 of them were napping) then I might jump in here to share a wacky story or two, then of course I will. Probably the time would be better spent grabbing a bite to eat or going to the bathroom or throwing the laundry in the dryer but alas I must make time for ME too... right?

Anyway hello to you my blog, my sanity, my 2 minute escape. I hope we can continue to entertain each other. HAPPY NEW YEAR

Feeling Blue?

They say that January is the month where people are most likely to feel blue. Bills piling up from over spending at Christmas, the lousy weather, the days still being too short, and realizing you haven't been faithful to even one of your New Years resolutions can make some people feel depressed.

January is also a big month for travel, especially around here. Everyone wants to get away from the cold weather and January is the perfect month to jet somewhere tropical... like my friend here. Now it's a known fact that people don't get a lot of sun up in the NW. So if you're going somewhere warm, you might want to get in a few tanning sessions before you go, so you're skin is use to the sun rays and won't fry like a big ol' slab of bacon. Like Conan O'Brien says of his pale Irish skin... "I wear sunblock 50... it actually shoots rays back up to the sun".

This funny pic was sent to my cell phone by my friend... FROM her tanning bed! She had removed her sexy mini eye protectors and exposes her bare corneas to the gamma rays (or whatever rays are used in tanning beds) just for my sole amusement. Quite frightening, don't you agree? For some reason I just can't stop looking at it. I like how her blond hair looks fright white, how the whites of her eyes look pink... she's a cross between Violet from Willie Wonka and a blue man group blow up doll. So after seeing this picture maybe you're just too scared, amused, or distracted now to be depressed. You're welcome.

Small Children and Dogs... a resolution story

Ok, so it's a new year. Happy 2007 by the way. Of course everyone's into those pesky resolutions, which most predict won't last but for two weeks at the most. There's the goal to lose weight, the one to get in shape, the one where you try to be nicer to people (that means you, Rosie and Donald), and the one where you try to be a better person.

One of my hilarious friends (mother of three with a super active sassy four year old son she'd like to possibly return to sender) sent me a most amusing text when I sent her one wishing her a happy new year. It simply said:

Happy New Year.  
My resolution is not to kick small children and dogs.

Ha. Now THAT'S a resolution. None of this world peace or lose weight, but one biting wish that must of come after one very long day of mothering. Matter of fact I locked that text in my inbox, so I could read it whenever I needed a good chuckle. Now of course I could resolve to blog more this year (which I will), and lose weight (which I hope), and resolute not to break these resolutions (ironic), but also maybe to resolve that I don't have to wait until I have some hilarious picture to share and the writing has to perfect before I blog. Maybe I can just lay it all out on the table, as is, imperfect and sometimes painfully funny. So small children and dogs stay out of my way... I'm gonna Blog BIG in 2007!