Dreams…I love them…

So I know some are going to think I’m crazy, but my Dad called me yesterday to tell me he found a place in Wichita that will cremate Ricki for $145, and she’ll come home in a nice cherry wooden box.  I’m totally cool with that.  I, for some reason, just can not have Ricki buried in the ground in a place where I can’t guarantee that I will not be able to visit her there.  My Dad is getting more and more frustrated with his neighbors and is always talking about moving, and I believe one of these days, when the right house comes around, he’ll be serious about it.  And I refuse to dig her out of the ground and move her, because that’s just not right.  So, I’m having her cremated so I can move her where ever I am, and can be near her, and then some day she can be buried with me.  I just feel that’s best for me. 

But going back to the title of my post, I was able to dream about Ricki last night, and I’m confident she’s back to her fat, happy, healthy self in Kitty Heaven.  Or real Heaven, I know she’ll be there with me when I get there, and Jamie, I’m sure she’s tormenting April there too.  We did find them sleeping together WAY too often for them not to be friends. 

I know I’ve told several people about how I was able to dream about Dan Trial, Brian Arellano, and my Grandpa (with the help of a psychic-not what it sounds like), a few days after they passed (with grandpa it took 18 years), but I was able to dream about them and say my good-byes.  I doesn’t happen with everyone I know that passes, but with people that I have a special connection to.  And Nikki was able to say goodbye to Krystal Aarstead this way too, and I had never told her about my experiences until after she told me about hers.   So my point is, that I am so grateful for dreams.    

In my dream, I was hanging out with Edith, Cat, Jamie, and Jill on the roof of Edith’s old house (by her bedroom), but there was this ramp like thing twisting up to it.  But the back yard near it, was my parents backyard, and we were hanging out on a picnic table.  Then Nolan and Ethan, and some of their high school friends came over and they were playing soccer in the yard.  So then us girls were hanging out on the picnic table, and then something burrowed out of the ground really quickly, and at first it was a squirrel, and then it turned into Ricki. I’m not sure, it was weird.  But she came right to me and let me hug and squeeze all over her, and she was throwing her head into my face so I could kiss her forehead like I always did.  And she was back to her plump, happy self, and was purring up a storm.  I didn’t quite realize it in my dream what was going on, so I was just pumped to see her, and she isn’t human so she couldn’t talk back to me in English, but when I woke up this morning I realized what had happened. 

I worked too many hours last week, and this week, so I’m not going into work until 1pm, so I was able to sleep in,  and I’m grateful.  I was able to enjoy my dream…

July 4, 1993-March 10, 2009

So my dad called me today to tell me that he found Ricki under their bed.  He saw her last yesterday around 1pm, and she was still happy and purring then, so I know she went in her own time, and that she was not in too much pain.  She only weighed 5 lbs, a far cry from her usual 14 lbs.  And I’m so happy that I was able to see her a week and a half ago. 

I don’t feel the need to show any current photos of her, or any from over the past year, I will always remember her this way, so this is how I will display her.

This is my favorite photo of her: 

Such a pretty kitty…

I love that the minute I got her this bed for her, she loved it, and slept in it all the time. 

And would do cute things in it.

And she allowed me to torment her every so often.

And she was great.

She’s yawning in this picture, by the way.  I just think she’s too cute.

Two weekends ago when I was home, she still slept in my bed the whole time so she could be near me and my stuff.  She came into the bathroom with me and drank my bath water like she did every morning when we lived together.  And I would kiss her forehead.

She was a great kitty and will be deeply missed, but I know she knew I loved her, and she will always be my kitty…

If only you could donate dog hair too…

…because if you could, some dog with cancer would have a good wig out of my dogs’ hair!

Here’s a nice before shot, they are SOOOOOO hairy!

They’re looking at Cody, he’s trying to help me get them to look at me.  Here’s the best we could do with a before shot:

Although, this one’s kinda my favorite:

Henry thinks he’s in trouble, but I like the little paw lift.  But I think everyone can agree on the fact that they are WAY too fuzzy!

So about 1.5 hours… and a bag of hair later…

And here’s some clean cut pups!

Little Annie…

Little Skinny Henry…

Don’t they look so much better cut?  I think so.  The forecast says it won’t get too cold in the coming week, and I’m hoping Spring is on it’s way soon.  I just so sick of the cold.  70’s and sun,  I am SO ready for.

Here’s a just-for-fun pick.  Cody had Kelly spike his hair for the KU vs. K-State again, and although I refuse to discuss the outcome of the game, I am willing to discuss this photo…

I just had to Mohawk Henry too, so him and Cody could match.  My two silly boys!

Although I shaved Henry’s head today, so I won’t be able to do this anymore, but it was cute while it lasted.

I’m still uncertain…

I keep saying that over an over again: hesitant, uncertain, not sure.  All those things I keep saying over and over.  But that’s the truth. 

So I’ve just been sick of my hair lately, and I wanted to cut off  like 6 inches.  But then I kept thinking, 6 inches, I need 10 to donate it, and I don’t want to cut off 6 and waste it, so lets just cut off 10.  So Nikki and Royce had a hair cut on Saturday, and I asked Kelly if she wanted to cut 10 inches off (which she’s been trying to get me to do for like 5 years).  She said she could squeeze me in, so I said “just do it.”  And here’s what happened…

My poor hair…

I sent it off in the mail today.  I just hope some girl gets a nice wig out of it.  She needs it more than I do, but I sure do miss it…

Here’s what it looks like straight and air dried, also I just took it out of a pony tail, so it’s not lookin’ too spiffy right now…

But I did it, and there’s no going back now.  My pony tail is so short!  My hair seriously hasn’t been this short since I was in 3rd grade.  I know, all the more reason to cut it, but it’s just so weird.  I don’t even look like myself!

But my shaggy dogs don’t seem to care…

I’m laughing because Annie just tried to lick my teeth, and I wasn’t too excited about that.  That’s her “I just got shut down” look.  And little Henry just likes to lick air, so he’s just chillin’ with his tongue out.

But on a fun note, Cody got his hair cut on Friday, and sometimes he has Kelly do fun things with it.  Not the cutting, just the styling.  So Cody had Kelly give him a Mohawk.  Here’s the front view…

and the side view…

Ok.  So that’s the big news for the week.  Hopefully it grows fast.  My hair, not Cody’s…

Silly Brody…

Ok, so I’m at Nikki’s this morning because I originally took off work so that I could help watch Royce while she was induced, and well, as we all know Brody decided that he wanted to be born on Friday, so now I’m just in Topeka helping Nikki.  Everyone in the house is still asleep, so I’m just goofing off on the computer.  I check out Stormont-Vail’s website to see what his picture looks like in the new baby section and this is what my silly nephew is doing…

Is he dancing?  Doing a little jig?  Maybe the hula?  What is he doing!?  I just keep looking at the picture and I can’t stop laughing! 

Evidently he wouldn’t stay still and this is the best that they could do.  But, seriously, it’s hilarious.

**UPDATE** I have been informed by my co-worker Katie, that he is doing the Thriller Dance, and I have to say that she is right.  It very much looks like Thriller.  But I am happy to have the question “what is he doing” answered.

Timely Notification Bulletin

So Washburn started doing this thing about how they send out Timely Notifications if there is any threat on campus, and it seems like I get at least one a week.  It’s either someone around campus has a gun, shot gun, shoved a girl down while running, etc.  But this one I found rather humorous…

“Washburn University Police Department
Timely Notification Bulletinpolice@washburn.edu

**Tuesday, September 16, 2008 **

In compliance with the “Timely Notice” provisions of the federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Actof 1998 the Washburn University Police Department is advising the campus community of:

** Lewd and Lascivious Behavior **

Reported Offense:

At 05:14 A.M. this morning Washburn Police received a report of a male exposing himself in Parking Lot 11 north of the Law School.  The victim reported she was walking near the Law School and saw a truck pull into the parking lot and a male subject get out of the truck and remove his clothes.  The suspect left north bound on MacVicar Avenue as the victim went to the help phone to call police.  If you have any information about this incident please contact the Washburn Police Department at 670-1153.

Suspects:

The suspect in this incident is described as a white male in his 40’s or 50’s.  The suspect was approximately 5’06” tall with a thin build and had no facial hair or glasses.  Prior to removing his clothing he was wearing a button down shirt with dark pants and a tan hat.

The suspect was driving a full size pickup truck dark in color with gold or tan around the bottom of the truck.  The truck was described as being newer, probably 2000 to 2005.

When conditions exist that pose a threat to the students, faculty, staff and visitors of Washburn University, it is the duty of the University to give warning of possible “dangerous conditions” on or near the campus.

If you have any information that might be helpful in this investigation, contact the Washburn University Police Department by telephone at (785) 670-1153; in person at our office, Morgan Hall Rm 156; or by e-mail at

Submitted by: Sgt. C. Enos, WUPD
Target: Students, Faculty & Staff
Date: Tuesday, September 16, 2008″

My favorite part is where it says “prior to removing his clothes” this is what he was wearing…

I’m glad she wasn’t hurt, there are some real perverts out there, but what a horrible thing to see 5:14 in the morning.

I am so glad I don’t live in Topeka anymore…

 

 

 

Introducing… Brody Andrew Daniels!

After a few hours of discussion, my new nephew finally has a name!  And it was one that everyone agreed on, unlike a few others that were tossed into the mix-like Titan.  But isn’t Brody a great name?  I thought so. 

So Nikki called me Thursday to tell me that at her doctors appointment, she was dilated to 4.  We knew she probably wouldn’t make it until Tuesday when she was suppose to be induced.  So I rearranged my weekend schedule just in case.  But then I get a frantic message from Nikki Friday at noon, saying “I think I’m in labor, but I’m not sure.”  She’s never gone into labor on her own, she was induced both times.  So silly Nikki drove herself to the hospital, and couldn’t get a hold of Robert, so she called me.  I said, “Well I’ll talk you there and then call me back if your really in labor.”  Well, then Robert called her back when she was a few feet away from the hospital, so I let her go.  An hour later, I get a message that they’re having a baby today, and she’s dilated to 7.  So I finish the call notes that I was doing, and arranged shelter coverage, called my boss to ask if I could leave, and at 2pm I headed off for Topeka.  All I wanted to was hold a leg (Nikki’s) while she pushed, so I told her to hold the baby in until I got there.  It was raining like hell the whole way, and stupid cars were not driving fast enough, I get up to the fourth floor of Stormont-vail at 3:12pm, to the nurses station, and they tell me that I need to go back to the waiting room because they’ve just delivered, and they won’t be ready for visitors for at least 10 to 15 minutes.  I grumpily go to the waiting room and wait.  I just wanted to be with my sister!  I didn’t want to wait 15 minutes!  But I did. 

Brody was born at 3:04 pm.  I missed him by 8 minutes, 8 minutes!  Damn rain…

But he’s wonderful and perfect, even if he didn’t wait long enough for me to get there first.  I guess the world really doesn’t revolve around me. 🙂 He didn’t get named until the next day, but I think they chose well.  He’s 21 inches long and weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz.  And he was born 367 days after his older brother (367 because this year was a leap year), they will have birthdays 1 day apart.  But I’ve very glad that he waited until the 12th.  At least they each have their own day.

It cracks me up how much he doesn’t look like Royce.

…little chubby baby faces…

…and little chubby funny baby faces…

Isn’t he just beautiful?  I swear, Nikki and Robert make the cutest kids.  Even newborns.

Family picture.

I couldn’t take a good aunt picture, the light was funny.  And I was tired, and I look it.  But this is the best one out of the 4 we took.

Little praying feet… I LOVE baby feet…

Oh, he’s just precious!

And look at all the hair!  I think he has more hair than Royce!

Here’s silly ornery Royce for reference on the hair comment.  He was being flirty and wouldn’t eat his cheeseburger for me.   

More tired Brody…

And finally more baby feet… They’re just great! They had to take blood from his foot to get his bilirubin count-which was fine.

But I got to watch Royce for the night so that Robert could stay at the hospital with Nikki.  Royce is so funny.  When Nikki called Saturday morning to say that they decided on the name Brody, I told Royce, “Yea!  You’re brother’s name is Brody!”  Royce was standing in the kitchen with me and he started clapping. It was too cute. 

But I was right, it IS wonderful having 2 nephews to love.

Royce’s First Birthday Party

So, it’s been a busy couple weeks, and I’m trying to catch everyone up in order.  So her are some wonderful pictures of Royce during his first birthday party.  I’m so glad Nikki had it when she did, because she would have not been able to this weekend!  But that’s for the next post.  So, here’s the party!  It was great fun…

We started out with some pizza to eat…

Then it was time for cake. 

Yes, Nikki bought him a crown to wear.  It didn’t get worn long.  Just long enough for some pictures.

Nikki wanted a picture with his real cake, and he took a bite of the frosting.  See it?  Silly boy.

And the messy fun begins…

Get it Royce…

It was so hard not to clean him in between bites…

Shove it in…

This is my favorite.  The shiny stuff on his chest is ice cream.  But you can tell he had fun.  And the frosting complements his eyes so well. 

Here’s the full body shot.

And the present his favorite aunt and uncle got for him.  He loved it!  He had no interest in unwrapping gifts, just playing with them was good enough for him.

And here’s me and my Ruben.  Ruben is Robert’s nephew for those of you who don’t know, and I love him. He’ll be 6 next month.  He’s just great, and is too “cool beyond [his] years.”

I agree with Edith…

…having a blog does make you want to carry your camera with you everywhere.  And here are a few examples of why this is the case:

I was driving back from Wamego at the end of the day a few weeks ago and this is what I was following home.  I was trying to take a good picture, and I could not get close enough to get a good one and maintain a safe following distance.  So, I stalked this car for a few miles until we came to a stop light so that I could get close enough to take a good picture.  I just hope this person didn’t realize what I was doing, because according to her back window (I’m assuming it’s a girl’s car-I can’t imagine any boy doing this) she’s not a person that I want to be messing with…

 

But if you notice, she’s from Pottawatomie County, so at least I can say she doesn’t live in my county.  The stars just crack me up.  Like stars are going to make it less offensive.  My car says bitch on it, but don’t worry, there’s stars surrounding it, so it’s ok for your 5 year old to read it.  I did my best to cover her license plate number, so she won’t come back and sue me for posting her car on the Internet.

Ok, example two.  I carpool with my supervisor to case management on Tuesdays in Junction City, and as I was driving to her house, I passed this sign.  I just had to pull over and take a picture.  It’s priceless.

If I was a dog, I would walk right up to this sign, and squat.  And I would leave one hell of a present behind.  I have so many problems with this sign on so many different levels.  I realize that no one wants dog poo in their yard, but seriously.  Signs are not necessary, especially when that sign is a picture of a dog taking a dump.  It should just be expected that you clean up after your dog when you are on a walk.  I do it, and it’s not that hard.

Reason’s to like Fall…

Now, I’m typically a Spring and Summer person, but I will say that I do enjoy Fall (more than Winter-although snow is great-I just hate being cold!), I just don’t like things dying around me and cold weather.  But some reasons I can think of to enjoy Fall are leaves changing colors and Football games (mostly tailgating).  These are about all the reasons I can come up with though. I realize it’s not exactly fall yet, but here are some pics of the first football game:

Jill with her wonderful teal cup! I only made fun of her a little for the color of her cup!

I’m not as good at taking pictures of myself as I used to be.  I used to be able to center it perfectly every time!

There, that’s a little better!

My girls.  Yes, I’m holding a teal cup too!  I decided that it actually was a good idea.  And we made Edith take one.  She was a little reluctant, but finally caved.

So by this point, it’s probably about 5 in the evening/afternoon.  I always wonder exactly when afternoon turns into evening.  I think 5pm starts evening time, but I’m willing to discuss it.  Anyway, this guy was completely passed out on the stone fence at 5pm.  Nice… that’s all I have to say about that.

Mr. and Mrs. Casey and Katie Wallace (they’ve been married for 1 week in this pic) 🙂

Casey (making a funny face) and Luke, not paying attention.

Meghan and her Dad, Mike

It takes a lot of teamwork to get beer from one part of the stadium to the other. 

But it was a fun day, and another reminder why drinking all day is not a good idea.  Thank god for taxi cabs…