Heart Attack Central

So today I went and worked out with Jake. It was fun. I've been extra tired from this cleanse, but I made it through, and I accomplished an exercise I have never done before, cleans. I love that Jake can push me further than I would push myself, and also that he makes me do more weight than I would do on my own. It makes my workouts that much better. Also, it's really great getting the technique right, because I've never had anyone work one on one and teach me that.

After the workout, I went to this organic burger place called P something... I forgot the name. But it's good. I ordered a cheese burger, no bun. Yeah, she looked at me strange, but not too strange, so I guess people order crap like that all the time. I also talked to my friend Ali for a long time, which was nice cause we don't talk as much as I wish we did. Then I drove to the Petsmart to get Akira some kitty food and bought her some kitty milk cause Jeff doesn't like that I feed her real milk. But she's my everything so I want her to have the best.

Today I got the biggest scare of my life when I came home. I saw a bunch of equipment outside my door and the door was slightly ajar. I was like, oh crap. See we just got this flier talking about how there'd been a bunch of car robberies and to be extra careful with your home. The first thing I thought was that if someone was robbing my house they'd for sure take my leopard printed cat. So I burst in, ready for a throw down, cause no one robs me from my baby. It wasn't robbers, it was some guys cleaning out our fireplace. I knew they were coming but forgot. So I was like, where's my cat? And the guy said that she had run back towards the bathroom. The only door open for her to get into was the bathroom so I went in there and she wasn't there. Then I searched the entire apartment for her and couldn't find her. I started freaking out. I was like... where's my cat? Did she get outside? The guy swore to me that she was still in the apartment somewhere. Then I started thinking, what if he took her? And I was searching outside practically screaming for her. I searched the apartment 3 times and could not find her ANYWHERE. Oh man. I nearly lost my mind right there. I was not about to lose this beautiful kitten I have invested time, and most importantly love. The poor fireplace cleaner guy was so worried, but still promised me he hadn't let her out, told me he's got kittens of his own and knows how important she is to me. So as he left and put his equipment away I screamed her name again and herad a rustle in the laundry room. I opened the door and called her again, sweetly. I heard her behind me, shut the door and found her stuck between the wall and the fridge. As you can all imagine, I cried a little with relief. Fireplace dude came back and offered to help me find her and I thanked him profusely and told him I found her behind the fridge. Moral of the story... if I'm this neurotic now, what kind of mother will I be someday? I just can't explain to you what an amazing cat I have. I'm so lucky. She's amazing, cute, fun, funny, playful, obedient, smart, she's learned everything I've ever tried to teach her. She cuddles with me... sleeps next to me after Jeff goes to work. She's my child. Yesterday I taught her hide-n-seek. It's so cute. I poke my eyes up and she RUNS as fast as she can and pops up and scares me. So cute!

Anyways, I'd like to take the opportunity to say thanks to God for giving me such an amazing husband and kitten and thanks for not letting anything happen to her today.

Blog Out.

New House!

Great NEWS!!! We put a bid in a week or 2 ago and finally heard today that we won the bid on our NEW HOME!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here's a picture of it, or 5:

Obviously we need to do some SERIOUS work to the Kitchen... we'll be repainting and recarpeting the whole thing... but this sucker is 1,846 sq. ft. It's gonna be so fun! We shall begin our home renovating around April 3rd.

Happy Anni-freakin-versary...

Well, this past weekend we celebrated our Anniversary Uno! Fortunately, we decided to make it a whole weekend thing instead of just celebrating today, Monday, because Jeff would have to work and I was supposed to go to school. Saturday and Sunday were pretty good. We went out to Gumbo's which is the place we went right after Jeff proposed to me, we went shopping and bought an omlet pan and apx 60 books (not exaggerating at all, luckily most were $1)... we went a little nuts. Also, my favorite purchase of the weekend, my new Sony Cyber-shot:

She's a beauty, isn't she? Got her for $109 dollars because they couldn't get rid of the pink ones... and they had several only in pink. Only they didn't know that I really, secretly, wanted the pink one... if for no other reason than because Jeff was vehemently against a pink camera! muahaha! The best part is that I had a gift card for $100, and Jeff had a gift card for $100, and another gift card with a smaller amount on it... so we got the camera, a memory card, a carrying case, and a video game without spending one dime of our own! woohoo thanks Mom and Dad merry christmas to us! And now a posting of a few of the photos I have taken with my new love:

As you can see the last picture I took is of my newest anniversary gift... prescription meds to cure my new lung disease. I am not sure what I have exactly but it's basically a lung infection that isn't as bad as bronchitis but could turn into it if I don't watch it. I found out that what I thought was just a minor cough was pretty serious today when I tried to do Aerobics, and 3 minutes into it couldn't breath. So I rushed to the Dr. and he said I'm supposed to take Amoxicillin to get rid of the infection, and the steroid Prednisone to turn myself into a big hairy man (I guess this helps your lungs get big and strong to avoid infection?). Unfortunately for those of you who were secretly excited to watch my slow transformation into a big hairy man, I will not be taking the Prednisone because I feel like the amoxicillin will do just fine. Inflamation schminflamation!!! But just for fun, here is a mock post-steroid photo of ME:

Create your own FACEinHOLE

You love it! Back off ladies, I'm taken!

Blog Out.

Weekend Update

Ahh... I'd like to start this post with a sigh of relief. Why? Well, last week I was going through extreme mood swings and lethargy. I literally had to drink a green tea a day just to get myself through the day. Luckily, I am back on my feet today and feeling great (although I did endulge myself in yet another green tea latte, I think I have a problem...)!

This weekend was really really awesome. I feel like it was good bonding time for Jeff and me. Friday night we had a date night, went out to eat at this French restaurant called Le Madelein (which was NOT very good by the way) by ourselves, came home and played a new game together, and ended up staying up till about 2 am laughing. Then Saturday morning we went and looked at 3 more houses, and decided that we liked 2 of them. We are deciding between those 2 and another 1 that I liked from before for which house we're going to put a bid on. Luckily it was a short and sweet tour of homes, and we were back home by 3. We then went to get sushi at our favorite little restaurant (Hayashi) which is always really tasty. Saturday night we went over to Jeff's parents house where Liz, Andrew, and Chris and Tom came over and we all watched this really weird movie which I forgot the title of already. It was kinda stupid though, so no need to remember the title, cause I won't ever be looking to watch it again. Sunday, Jeff and I decided to go look at those houses again so we could figure out which house we should buy. We still haven't made a decision but I'm rooting for the one in Georgetown cause it's a better neighborhood. The one I really don't want has creepy across-the-street neighbors that have been sitting in their garage staring at us both times we've visited the home. They don't look like people you want to be friends with either. However, that home is the least in need of fixing up, and it's cheaper, so I might end up having to deal with creepy neighbors for a few years. Ugh. Maybe we'll buy some really large shrubs. lol. Also, over the weekend, we bought Akira a new squeaky mouse that you hang from the door (she broke the last one)... it is a great source of entertainment to watch her try to attack this mouse. She keeps trying to squeak in mouse language, and the resulting chirp noise is sooooo hilarious. Also, the old mouse she broke (ripped it off the string and broke it's voice box) is now our new favorite toy for her to fetch. Not only is it easier for her to carry in her mouth, but I can throw that thing a lot farther since it's not made of lightweight foil stuff... awesome.

And with that, I just want to add that I am so happy that I have such a wonderful little family. I love them so much, and wouldn't trade the life I have now for anyone elses!

Update on House

We didn't get the house... someone put a bid in before we got the chance, and now the seller wants $145,000 for it in order for them to take our bid over the other, and it's not worth that much... so yeah.... all excited and worked up for nothing....

and to complete my craptastic day, Akira laid a big pile of poop under the keyboard Jeff bought me... yep... right after I heard the bad news on the house, I get home and have to clean up a very disgusting, fresh, steaming, pile of poop that was the consistency of pudding... and somehow managed to splash on the wall and paw prints all over the house in poop. Yep... don't know why... not sure how she thought that was ok....

Blog OUT

The Fetching Cat and so on...

I died my hair brown... you probably all know that from my facebook, but it wasn't supposed to be brown. It was supposed to be my natural shade of dark blonde, but the guy went 1-2 shades darker cause he said it would fade into the right shade. We'll see. Either way, I like it. I think it suits me.

In other news, I've been learning how to apply eyelash extensions with my Mommy Hartung. I got them myself, and love them! I don't feel I learned the technique that well, though, so we're both going to take a second class in February to get our skills honed. I really enjoyed that time with her, though, and I think it will be REALLY fun once we start doing lashes for money! By the way I might need a few guinea pigs, so anyone who wants free lash extensions let me know.

The best part of this post is saved for last. Akira, my gorgeous Bengal, can now fetch. I learned this a while ago but forgot to post it. I was sleeping in my bed, next to my husband, happily in dreamland... when I awoke to this most annoying crinkle noise. *crinkle crinkle* POUNCE *crinkle crinkle* So I look under my bed, and Akira is going crazy trying to eat this crinkle bird of hers (In case you're wondering what a crinkle bird is, it's a bird shaped wad made of really thin sheets of aluminum or something, it sounds like a wrapper being wadded up). So, being a loving mother, I take away the bird, and hide it under Jeff's leg. Soon, she begins pouncing on his leg, so I throw it so she'll let him sleep. Promptly, she comes back with the bird, lays it on my leg, and pounces it again. So I pick it up and throw it, and she brings it back yet again. Annoyed, I took the bird and hid it behind a picture frame on a shelf she can't reach. This was the beginning of my realization.

So, the next day I sit on the couch and prepare Akira for our daily dose of CSI. She jumps off the couch and goes after her crinkle bird again, and I watch her. Soon, she brings the bird onto the couch and plops it in front of me. So I take the bird and I throw it, to see if she'll chase. She does, and brings it back to me, waiting for me to throw it again! SHE FREAKING FETCHES!!! I LOVE this cat!!!!!!!!!! In secondary news, she also knows what "face rubbies" means, and when I say it, she nuzzles me with her face. It's so cute!

Christmas

I realized I have failed to discuss my Christmas/New Years Eve experiences...

So when Jeff and I got back from Vegas, my mother-in-law was very excited to inform me that she found a kitten for me! The kitten, you all now know her has Akira, was in Corpus Christi, so I called the breeder and made plans to have her shipped on the day after Christmas! That was Christmas Surprise #1!!! I must say, as far as Christmas Presents go, my mother-in-law in one Christmas gave me the best present I may ever receive! I love my little Akira so much!

Then on Christmas Eve, we all went over to the Hartung's house, mommy-in-law made a yummy dinner, and we had a pajama party. Apparently this is a Hartung Tradition! What was awesome is that we all got silk pajamas, and they were all really pretty. Mine had a really cool jungly pattern with cheetah spots and tiger stripes (probably so I could match Akira). We also got robes with them. After dinner, we got to open one present. Mine was from Liz, she got me a magnet that said "Chillin with my gnomies", a really funny bank with a little girl holding a match that said "saving up for therapy" or something to that extent, and some monkey key toppers to put on my keys. Cute stuff. Jeff got a new headset for his phone, which he was very excited about. Then we stayed up and played games, we got a game called Cranium at Susan's family christmas party, so we played that and it was super fun! Plus I was kinda on Liz's team and Jeff's team, so either way I won! muahaha. Score 1 for Caitlin on strategy! Then we all went to bed, hoping to hear Santa's sleigh so we could catch him putting presents under the tree!

The next morning we all got up around the same time, came out in our Jammies, and got to make a big pile of our loot. Then we each got to open one present at a time, and then went nuts! I'd go down the list and tell you every present, but we'd be here a while, so I'll highlight the ones I remember. I got a new outfit, complete with 2 shirts, a hat, a scarf, and a gorgeous bracelet, I also got 2 new purses which I DESPERATELY needed, a new wallet which I LOVE, a pedicure set with everything possibly needed and a foot soak/massager!!! I also got a new work out DVD, which I also needed, and mainly the kitten was my big present. Jeff got that headset, a gift card to Walmart, money, new underwear (the good kind lol), etc. Andrew got a FLOWBEE!!! AHAHAHA. Actually he'll probably use it, but I never thought I'd see the day I'd encounter a real live flowbee. He also got Guitar Hero the new kind where you can add instruments. Liz got a bunch of clothes, jewelry, a huge massive amount of crocheting stuff because that's her new passion, we got her a set of bird salt and pepper shakers because she loves birds, etc. I can't remember what Scott got aside from some DVD's and a Glenn Beck book he really wanted from Liz, and then Susan got an awesome new touchscreen computer that looks really cool.

All in all, we made out pretty good this year, and i really enjoyed being with Jeff's family. Their home has a nice happy family-oriented atmosphere, and I feel like a belong there, which is a really great feeling. So... Merry Christmas!!!

New Year Pees

Akira... She's a wonderful little ray of sunshine in our lives. With that said... she's a lazy, lazy bum. We bought the booda dome litter box for her to use, it's great because it has a filter on the top to keep the stink away. Soon after she came to live with us, we found a strange occurance... Akira was pooping in the litterbox, but peeing all over the wall and basically everywhere but the litterbox. All we can figure, is that she put half of her body in the opening and then let loose so that a multi-directional spray coated my recently cleaned bathroom with urine. Lovely eh? This happend 4 times before we realized we really did not want to clean the floor a 5th time... so we set out to buy a new litter box. To those of you considering buying a cat... this one is a genious idea... they have to go into the hole in order to use the litterbox, so once she's in that hole halfway, she's got to finish the job... thanks to this ingenious plastic bin with a hole in the top (Which we bought for $40 dollars) we are now able to walk on the bathroom tile without worrying about hitting a wet spot! If only we'd thought to just buy a $5 plastic bin and cut a hole out of it ourselves... until next time... this has been adventures in pet-ownership land.

Akira Couture Hartung

Say "Hello" to the newest member of the Hartung household, Akira Couture Hartung! She's the hottest little thing ever to hit Austin, and she knows it! She flaunts it! What to say... Akira's a Leo, like me, her birthday is July 25, 2008. She loves hiding behind the couch and occasionally behind the toilet (I'm trying to rid her of that habit). She also loves being under our bed and under my dresser. Akira is very affectionate, though still adjusting to her new home and new family. She mews very cute! It sounds like "Ow!" and she also growls sometimes. It's cute. Akira is into the latest fashion, and has a very stylish bright pink leash. She also only plays with the latest in accessories, for example her bright pink mouse with yellow feathers for a tail, her crinkle bird which is green and yellow, and her cheetah print bouncy ball, which looks a lot like her. Akira is still working on her coordination skills, though. She is not the most graceful when it comes to jumping onto and off of things but we hope she'll improve with time.

We've finally gotten her confidence up enough that she will lay out on the couch with us while jeff plays Fable 2. She loves Jeff, and is currently sleeping on his lap because I'm in the computer room (which is off-limits to her). She also loves me. We had good bonding time because when she first got here she would not leave the bathroom. I'll tell the story.

We picked Akira up from the airport around 3pm yesterday, and drove her home for 30 minutes. She hardly made a peep the whole time but kinda just stared at us and looked pretty freaked out. We decided to let her out in the room where we keep her little box (guest bathroom), and we also put out her food and water bowl so she would be able to eat after the flight she was on. I let her out of her cage and she slowly came out but not till I left the room. The next few times I checked on her she was hiding behind the liter box. Jeff's mom suggested we get her some cat nip to calm her down. So I sent Jeff to the store and stayed behind to try and see if one person was easier than 2 in getting her to come out. Soon I heard her weird little "Ow!" meow, and started making the same noise back at her. Slowly, antagonizingly slow, she peeked her head around the corner and eventually made it all the way into the living room. Meanwhile, I maintained my distance on the couch so she wouldn't feel threatened. Through lots of meowing at each other I finally got her to sniff my hand and then to let me pet her. She is now very over being afraid of either of us but it definately took some effort. I blame that on her age. She's 5 months old, so she's young enough that she's not secure being on her own, but also old enough that she's not a fearless baby. She's more at that unsure toddler age.

This morning she came and cuddled with us on our bed, though, and has been much more friendly and out there with us today. I think by Monday all hesitation will be gone and we'll be in for it! I can't wait!