Tiffany’s Corner

The sun was shining today. Life is so much sweeter when the sun’s warm rays are beaming down on you, don’tcha think?

I’ve been kinda busy lately. As I’m sure you can tell, since I haven’t been on here in a while.

But don’t fret, I’ve put together a few collages for you. Pictures taken during various outings over the past month or so.

Enjoy the pictures.

Take care. I promise to write more often.

Someday…

Well, another day has come and gone. What did you do with yours?

I enjoyed an incredibly overwhelming day at work. I use the term ‘enjoyed’ loosely. Very loosely. Let’s just say that as much as I hate to admit it, when all three of the front office people aren’t there, it is really obvious! I can’t wait until my vacation over Memorial Day. 5 whole days of whatevertheheckIwannado!

But then I got to come home to a yummy dinner of Chicken Ceasar Salad and a movie. We watched P.S. I Love You. Talk about a 2 hour lump-in-the-throat of a movie! But it was sweet, and it had a good ending. (And don’t tell anyone, but yes, I did see James brush away a few tears! )

Oh well. Back to life, back to reality…(can you name that tune?!)

Some of you may remember the rant I went on in a previous post about how my little sister and I never get to spend anytime together. How I felt like she didn’t care about having me as a sister or a friend. Let’s just say it was a very emotional day for me. Sorry Sis.

Well, for the past month I think, Brittany has been inviting me down to her “office” on Saturdays. You see, she works at Purrfect Pals. It’s a no-kill cat shelter in Stanwood. She’s a Vet Tech there. She really loves her job, but it can be quite overwhelming. So much work, so many kitties, so few people.

So I’ve been going down on Saturdays, when I can, for about 6 hours at a time, to work with her as a volunteer. Let’s just say this is the only time when Britt gets to play the bossy big-sis. When I fill in my details on the volunteer sign in sheet, I describe my duties as “Brittany’s slave.” It’s sad but true.

I’m loving every minute of it.

When I was growing up, like most young girls, I wanted to be a Veterinarian. I even worked in a few clinics, as kennel and office staff, to get my feet wet. But then I kind of came to the realization that that line of work just wasn’t for me. I don’t have a strong understanding of science, or a desire to learn Microbiology. So, I don’t think I would have made it very far in that field.

But just because I didn’t want to be Vet didn’t mean I stopped loving animals, especially kitties.

So now, thanks to my lil’ sis I get to step back into that role by helping her out at the shelter.

Some people may not find it fascinating, but I do. I think it’s pretty cool to help save the life of cat that at any other place would be euthanized. When a cat is brought into Purrfect Pals it’s screened for disease, it is vaccinated, it gets microchipped and of course, altered. And I get to help with all of that, including the surgery! It’s amazing!

And I know that if it weren’t for Brittany and her faith in me, none of this would be possible.

One of the most unbelievable things about this shelter is their lack of funds. They do so much for the community by trapping,  rehabilitating, and altering feral (wild/stray) cats. They showcase adoptable cats at dozens of facilities around the Puget Sound area. They even take in cats with Feline Leukemia and FIV (feline AIDS) when no one else will!

Purrfect Pals can be a great place to visit and it can be a sad place to visit. You see, certain rooms of the shelter are designated to cats with different needs. There’s a room for adoptable cats, one for outside cats (ideal barn cats), cats with “issues” (might not be the best at using the litter box), but there’s also a room for cats with FIV and Feline Leukemia. These last two rooms are kind of like quarentine rooms.

I think the saddest room of all is the Feline Leukemia room. I’d say there are about 6 full grown cats in there, but the remainder of the cats are kittens. Feline Leukemia is fully preventable with a vaccine. But when a female cat isn’t vaccinated, she passes the disease onto her kittens. Kittens born with FELV live an average of two years. So you see, it’s completely heart breaking to walk into this room full of adorable little kitties just begging to be loved. But most people won’t adopt them since they don’t have long to live.

So, have I got you completely depressed yet?                          

Sorry, I had not intention of doing that. Really!

I guess the main reason I mentioned all the different categories of kitties was so that everyone would know just how many are waiting to be adopted and loved. Keep your eye open next time you’re in Petsmart or another local pet store. You may see some of these cats up for adoption or even a jar on the counter asking for loose change. Please, drop in a quarter. It really will go much farther than you think!

And Britt, I hope you know how much I admire what you do. Going into that shelter everyday, doing what you do, just to help those adorable, smelly furballs. You are truly dedicated!

I guess I’ll close with a few pictures stolen from the Purrfect Pals website.

Have an awesome Tuesday everyone and God Bless!

Okay, just one more thing. If you’re interested in more information abou the shelter, here’s a link to their website. Remember every penny of each donation helps move them one step closer their goal of a new facility!

www.purrfectpals.org

KCUL8TRBYE!

Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a wonderfully glorious day!

James and I certainly made the most of it. We went to church at CTK and sat with his parents. The service was amazing. The pastor’s message was about “Crossing the Line.”  That is, crossing the line from sinner to saved. Making the choice to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. The whole sermon was basically one long alter call, something I’m sure a lot of people attending today needed to hear. It was really moving. The first half of the service was of course, mostly singing. Then the message. And  the last few minutes of the service involved a lot of people, mostly members of the church, standing up on stage with cardboard signs showing their previous label, like “Had Multiple Abortions” and then they’d flip it over to say “Forgiven and Alive in Christ.” It was totally humbling. I think the one that got me the most was when one of the Associate Pastors stood up with his sign that read, “Drug Dealer 15+ years” and he flipped it over to show “Associate Pastor 12 years.”

Wow. Talk about really getting my attention. Sometimes I feel so self-absorbed. But at this service I just couldn’t believe how wonderfully transformed all of these “sinners” were. You know what I mean? Sometimes I feel like no one would understand what I might be going through at any given moment, letalone that God would understand or care about my struggles. But then to see the people, including Pastor Grant, standing up there, bearing the shame of their past and beaming with joy at how God had changed them. It was amazing.

That’s just it. God is amazing. Afterall, he sent his one and only Son to die for us. And he now He lives again. That’s pretty freakin’ awesome!

Chocolate bunnies and marshmellow peeps aside, I have something else I’d like to share with you.

His name is Jo. That’s short for Jumpin’ Jehosaphat. He’s my new goldfish. He was a gift from my Mother-in-Law, Sue. (Thanks again!!)

He is a orange and white Ryukin and he’s HUGE compared to my other Fancy Tail Guppies. This is why I named him Jumpin’ Jehosaphat

He seems to be fitting in nicely with the other 6-8 guppies. I say 6 to 8 because right now I have 3 males and 3 females (two of which are pregnant) and atleast 2 babies that were born within the last week or so. I wish the babies luck, if they can outswim Jo, then I’m sure they’ll go on to live a long and happy life!

Here are some pictures of the other fishies…

School of Yellow Fancy Tail Guppies

Pregnant yellow guppy

Male Yellow Fancy Tail Guppy

And guess what?! I took the pictures of my fish with my new plum colored Nikon Coolpix S220! It’s a really great little camera that we picked up at Costco earlier this week. If you know me, then you know that I love to take pictures. And I’ve been without a camera for almost a year now. Man, it’s been tough!

Well, I think that’s about it for now. I guess I’ll close with a few more pictures that I took of my 20 gallon aquarium.

Have a marvelous Monday and I promise I’ll be more diligent at posting!!

The tank

Checkin' out his new digs

Swimming, Swimming, Swimming (he's channeling Dori) Jo stretchin' his fins

Wow. It has been waaay too long since I’ve posted anything. For that I extend my sincerest apologies.

 So, how is everyone? Mostly I’d like to know if anyone is really out there. It seems like lately all the comments I’ve been “moderating” are from stupid programs or something, because all I can see is gibberish. If you’ve read this post or even glanced at my blog, I’d really like to hear from you!

Well, let’s see what’s new…

I’m reading a really interesting book right now called The Shack.

 Have you heard of it? Apparently it’s quite a sensational book about a man struggling with a pretty powerful depression after his little girl is murdered. Three years after the date of her abduction he receives a note from God asking him to return to the scene of the crime. Can you imagine what you would do it you were in that man’s shoes?! I don’t know if I would even be able to consider returning to such a dark and menacing place! I’ve done a little searching around on the web, seems like “they” are strongly considering making it into a movie. I’ll be very interested to see how that turns out!

I have a rather somber announcement to make. My grandmother passed away last week. This past Saturday was her memorial service in St. Louis, MO. I wasn’t able to attend, but my Mom is there still helping with all the details.

Growing up I wasn’t very close to my extended family, to include my Grandma Rudy. She was my Mom’s mom. She was a very bitter, hard-living, independent woman. She would rather have lived in a travel trailer in the middle of a campground, surviving on basically nothing, than take money from anyone of her relatives. She smoked like a chimney and washed down her numerous pills with Jack Daniels.

She was loving and tender and totally devoted to her little Pekinese. She yelled at the dog all the time. That poor dog!

She sent me cards on my birthdays and Christmas. She couldn’t afford much. If you got a pair of socks from her for Christmas, it really meant alot.

But anything that came in the mail had to be aired out for days, sometimes longer, because of the cigarette smoke.

She was there when my husband and I announced we were getting married, she helped plan and cater the wedding.

Of course, she refused to leave the kitchen during the Rehearsal Dinner, announcing that we were “not her family.”

The last time I saw her was on my Wedding Day. She left my parents’ home and moved back to live with my Uncle Tracey.

She was always much happier with his family. I’m not really sure why. I don’t really understand why we weren’t “her family.” We are pretty disfunctional.

So, for what it’s worth, I love you Grandma. You were quite a lady and I only wish I could have gotten to know you better. You kept things interesting and you gave me a most precious gift, my Mother.

I take comfort in knowing that you are no longer in pain, you are running and jumping and laughing and playing up in Heaven, like you never let yourself do down here on Earth. You can breath, you can smile, you are happy and at peace.

I love you Grandma and we’ll be together again someday.

Me and Grandma at my wedding Sept 2007

Thought my fellow CCLs (crazy cat ladies) might enjoy this cartoon. It’s from the creature of Family Guy.