We made it to 3 years!!!

Yesterday Jeff and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary! It was lovely. Jeff brought me flowers, we went to Satay (where we took that Thai cooking class), and we are going to go Sky Diving again this weekend to celebrate. I cannot believe we have been married 3 years already!I think this was our best year yet. In it, we aquired Puppy, fostered 2 kittens, worked more on our house, went to Cape May, Jeff changed companies, and 2 nieces were born!We also have grown a lot closer as a couple, getting to know each other, and growing together as people. I feel like we have turned into this horrible monstrous creation... called... HOKETUNG!! AHHHHH!!!To celebrate the anniversary, I'm going to post a few photos to show how much we've changed in the last 3 years..

Valentines Blues?

Valentines Day makes me feel dread more than anything. It's like I am so anxious to make sure that Jeff expresses his undying love, that when he fails to remember the holiday (which unfortunately has happened several valentines days in a row), all I want to do is chuck him through the window and set the house on fire HULK style.

Last Valentines day was better than it's been, but I realized something this year. Starting Feb 1st, I started getting really moody. I started feeling resentful towards Jeff. And I realized something about Valentines Day. It's stupid. It's stupid for me to get mad at Jeff for not buying me flowers on a day designated by others that we are supposed to make grand romantic gestures. It's stupid for me to get so caught up in the holiday that I am literally sick to my stomach by the fact that my own husband doesn't care enough about me to pick me up a fricking red rose, just one. It's a STUPID holiday, but it still MATTERS to me.

So in order to solve this dilemma, being as Valentines day is so incredibly close to our Anniversary, which he did a WONDERFUL job on after his botched up Valentines, I talked it over with Jeff and we decided that we are going to make Valentines special in a new way. No candy (I don't eat candy anymore anyways), no flowers (they die), just a night in together, the two of us, making dinner together and spending quality time. No pressure. No cards. No fake materialistic bullsh*t. And I feel a lot better about the whole thing.

As for our Anniversary... that's going to be the big deal, the weekend getaway perhaps, I am not sure yet. But I feel like if Valentines Day is the day to celebrate your love, what better way than a romantic evening together in the comfort of your own home without the pressure for gifts or things that you don't need or even really want? Don't skip the holiday... make it your own special tradition.

That is all.

February I Celebrate My Loves

February is a big month for me, and for Jeff. It's the month we celebrate Valentines Day, but it's also the month we celebrate our 3rd anniversary!!! I cannot believe we have actually been married 3 (almost) years! I will be doing a special blog post around that time, but until then, I wanted to celebrate the loves in my life. I'm lucky enough to have many of them.

First, I'll start with my foster kittens, Wolverine (right) and Princess Buttercup (or whatever I may change her name to) (left). They are such sweethearts, and I am honored to teach them how to socialize with humans. I only hope I find them a good home before I keep them all to myself.

Of course, I cannot forget my first baby, Akira. She has brought lots of joy, some pain and frustration, but mostly just lots of love and good energy to our family. Akira has a special place in my heart because she's my baby, I've had her since she was tiny, and we've been together for 2 years now. She's such a loving, sweet-natured girl, and I am grateful that we have finally come up with a system that works to keep our house clean, and her happy and well socialized. She also has a love/hate relationship with my next love, her brother. It's really fun to see them play.
Little Storm-Cloud He-Man, aka "Puppy." When we first got him, we didn't realize how young he was. He's grown to 12 lbs, and I had to put him on a diet because he takes after his mommy and wants to eat everything all the time. Puppy got his nickname because he acts like a dog, and because I just started calling him that one day. It's the only name he answers to. He really lights up my life, even with all the mischief he gets into. I enjoy how sweet he is, and though he is really needy sometimes, I really appreciate how much he cares about being with me ALL THE TIME. He loves to trip me as I walk, begging for attention, and will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. Gotta admire the little spitfire. I love this cat, and I am so glad we kept him.

Most of all, I am celebrating my true love! Jeffrey is my soul-mate. I'm so lucky to have him and his goofy, fun personality. He's always trying to make me laugh and do things to help me keep the stress down. He really loves me a lot, and I am grateful that he never hesitates to tell me that, or let me know. A real man takes care of his wife, and does things for her out of love and respect, and Jeff is a real man. I can only hope to aspire to be the kind of spouse my husband is to me. It takes a special person to love you the way Jeff does.

I am truly blessed to have all these guys living with me right now, always available for hugs, kisses, and the occasional face rubbies (the cats, not Jeff). On top of all these awesome guys, I am lucky enough to have a really great family, and I love them all so much.

My sister, Valerie, turns 23 this month, and I miss her dearly. My brother, Jonathan, survived what could have killed him last month, and I am more grateful than ever to have him alive, doing well, recovering, and always making me laugh and happy. My sister, Meghan, is also hilarious, and is always just a phone call away whenever I need to talk or laugh or blow off steam. I am truly blessed with wonderful sisters, including Rebekah, my youngest and most adorable sister. She is such a smart, good, kind-hearted girl, I am excited about how wonderfully she has turned out and wish I had more time with her. My sister, April, who just had a sweet baby, is also a wonderful addition to the family. I just... I could go on and on. My mom, my dad, my step-parents, all of them... they are all wonderful, how did I get this lucky?

I am so in love with my family, my friends, my extended family... life is beautiful and I hope to continue to add many more loves as the years go by.

Happy Valentines Month!

I'm a Foster Mama!

So it all started with a facebook post. My ex-aerobics instructor/facebook friend posted that the local animal shelter (literally 5 minutes from my house) was in need of some help. Due to the horrific weather, they had to move all the dogs indoors because the temperature was/is too low. Unfortunately with the weather, they got an influx of 27 dogs and 8 cats. They needed people to foster or else they would have to kill the animals.

Instantly, my bleeding heart forced me to talk to Jeff. I went downstairs and told him we had to foster. What would have happened to Puppy (aka Cloud) if we hadn't found him and taken him in? He would have died. Jeff didn't even give me the fight I was prepared for. He said that if it was something I felt needed to happen, he was on board.

So I filled out the application, and the next day I went in. Because I already have cats, I couldn't take a dog. They just got some 7 week old kittens (2 of them) that needed to be socialized because they were afraid of people. I went into the back room, which was really cold in my opinion, and had several cages full of kitties. Honestly, if I could, I would take all of them home and take care of them... but I have visions of crazy cat ladies dancing in my head and this one CSI episode where this cat lady was dead and her cats ate parts of her body. YEEEK... enough of that.

So I had to. I just had to take the kittens home. Just for 1 month. They are so incredibly fluffy and cute!!! I have grown especially partial to the little boy, who I have given the name "Wolverine" (subject to change) to because he's so tough and scawy!! He was the most against us petting him and loving on him, hissing at me when I came near. But since yesterday, I have held him several times, and cuddled him until he was purring like a miniature lawn mower. He's super cute, and I believe may have some Maine Coon in him, like my childhood cat, Trapper, had. The little girl has calico markings, and is REALLY cute. So far she is more timid, but less aggressive when we try to pet her. She hides, and I found her this morning on the very top shelf of our closet! How she got there, I'm guessing, was by climbing my clothes. She likes Jeff more, and we've played with a few names, I think my favorite so far is "Marshmallow Puff" but we haven't really figured it out yet.

So that's what's new with us. If anyone is interested in adopting 2 really really sweet baby kittens, please let me know. I'm hoping to re-home them without having to put them back in the Animal Shelter. Pictures will be up soon.