A Rainy Addition
Back in September 2008, I had to re-home our beloved cat Rocco because, whether out of depression or rebellion, he had started pooping all over our house and mama can’t have that. I have missed Rocco dearly since then, and have been secretly or perhaps not secretly wanting another cat. I’m a cat person and always have been. I love that they quietly meow instead of loudly bark. I like that they clean themselves, because I have enough kids to bathe. I love that they are stuck up and act like divas. I like that they are soft and don’t stink. I really love cats. I feel like THIS chick:
Okay, I’m actually not like that chick.
So, the kids have been begging for a pet. A cat was the only option, as far as I was concerned. But I didn’t want just any cat. I wanted the perfect cat. Pretty, not stinky, tolerant of my boys, etc. As it turned out, my friend was looking to re-home her cat, which fit all the criteria I required. So, as of March 25th, this is our new family member:
Instagram photo. Isn’t she gorgeous?
Her [previously given] name is Rainy. We are missing the kitten stage, but we’re also missing the vet bills that go with that stage. She’s awesome, she’s beautiful, she’s gentle, she’s tolerant, and she fits in perfectly with our family. Only one problem: litter boxes are The Nasty. Because I’m maybe a bit OCD (this has been suggested, but never clinically confirmed), I’m determined to get Rainy toilet trained. I know it CAN be done, because my childhood cat Rufus toilet trained himself. So, I ordered CitiKitty online and started the process today. It supposedly takes 4-8 weeks to toilet train a cat. So, I’m not endorsing this product yet, but I’ll let you know in about a month.
Unfortunately (?), I do not have a photo for this post.
When I was a mildly unattractive kid, I had two cats: Rufus and Rodney. Rufus was a thoughtful and considerate cat. So, when he would kill various rodents, birds, and other small animals, he would often bring his prize to our back porch as a token of his love and devotion. Aww! So sweet!
Last Friday night, yeah we danced on tabletops, and we took too many shots, think we kissed but I forgot, I attended a ladies-only event. When I got home, I found a bouquet of hand-picked flowers and greenery that Andy, being a thoughtful and considerate man, had prepared for me as a token of his love and devotion. Aww! So sweet!
However…
Saturday afternoon, it came to my attention that unintentionally nestled into the bouquet was a DEAD BABY BIRD. Um, oops? Didn’t quite notice that when arranging the flowers and greenery, huh?
I guess I’ll think of this incident as one of life’s full circle moments.
My Little Tator Tot
My little tator tot isn’t so little anymore, as she turned 15 on Tuesday. Per tradition, we let her pick a restaurant to celebrate her birthday. She selected Bistro Bijoux – an excellent choice! I wouldn’t dream of bringing my wild monkeys boys into such an environment, so we left them with a babysitter. Andy, Taylor, and I shared a quiet corner table and didn’t hold back while ordering. After all, you only turn 15 once! We shared an appetizer of fried green tomatoes layered with lump crab meat, accented with andouille sausage and a jalapeno remoulade, which instantly became my favorite appetizer on the menu. We limited our consumption of the homemade herb bread to save room for the filet mignon with tempura lobster tail, which all three of us had. We didn’t have room for dessert, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Andy drank his dessert, a hot coffee with various liqueurs. I had the bread pudding, my personal favorite. The kitchen staff really went above and beyond to make Taylor’s dessert a work of art, which she greatly appreciated. She had vanilla creme brulee, fresh whipped cream with berries, and homemade Nutella ice cream (Angie, your daughter would LOVE it). They even wrote Happy Birthday, Taylor! with chocolate sauce. It was a lovely meal!
The following day, I brought Taylor to get her… learner’s permit. I CAN’T TALK ABOUT IT YET. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Oh, time. Time, why do you have to move so quickly these days?
Happy birthday, Taylor Christine! We love and adore you!
Close to My Heart
Last month I heard Christine Caine speak about the A21 Campaign, an organization that fights human trafficking worldwide. Since then, I’ve done further research on this subject, and I’m appalled that this kind of evil exists in the world. Some of my findings:
- According to the U.S. Department of Justice, human trafficking has become the second fastest growing criminal industry – just behind drug trafficking – with children accounting for roughly half of all victims. Of the 2,515 cases under investigation in the U.S. in 2010, more than 1,000 involved children. (source)
- According to International Crisis Aid statistics, as many as 300,000 American children are being used in sex-trafficking rings. Victims average age 11-14 years old and start as young as four. (source)
- Baby farms are, in my opinion, the most horrifying aspect of human trafficking. Teenage girls are raped with the goal of getting them pregnant. They are kept as prisoners until their babies are born. Then the babies are sold. As if illegal adoption wasn’t bad enough, these babies aren’t sold to would-be adoptive parents. The babies are either sold for their body parts or to pedophiles. (source 1, source 2)
- The FBI has named I-10 as the #1 corridor for human trafficking in the U.S. I don’t know about you, but that’s uncomfortably close to home for me.
- Watch this documentary. If it doesn’t prompt you to take action, I’m not sure what possibly could.
Again, I’m appalled that this kind of evil exists in the world. But my broken heart alone isn’t going to save anyone or make a difference. So…
Andy and I made a substantial financial contribution to A21, but we wanted to do more. As most of you probably know, my husband is an artist. We decided to auction off a piece of his work (see below) to benefit A21. The silent auction will be held on March 17th at Art in the Park, with the winner being announced at 4:00 that afternoon. Yes, you must attend the event to place a bid, but there are other ways to get involved with A21. Our two goals in auctioning this piece of art are to bring human trafficking awareness to our local community and financially support A21.
Human trafficking is an overwhelming worldwide problem, but there IS hope. Get involved if you want to help fight this atrocity, and follow A21 on facebook for global updates. We ARE making progress.
Simple solution?
I have a point not really related to our personal finances, so just bear with me.
In 2005, Andy and I read Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover, a book I highly recommend. (Actually, I think it should be required reading for all high school seniors, so that maybe they could transition into adulthood without destroying their financial situation during their first semester of college.) After reading this book, we cancelled our credit cards, paid off debt, and only bought things when we had the money. Having no consumer debt is a beautiful thing. I don’t miss credit cards at all.
Last night I was thinking about the financial climate of our country. Not politics, exactly. Just the economy. A fantastic solution came to me. I don’t consider myself politically savvy, but I do know how liberating it is to be debt-free. I’m sure this is over-simplifying the situation, but complicated solutions aren’t working, either. So, here’s my idea. What if all government funding and spending was frozen, and tax dollars were only used to pay off the debt? Then, once the debt was paid off, the government only spent money they actually had? Crazy concept, I know. Can you imagine if our country was debt free? Is my solution too simple?
Okay, think about your family for a minute. Let’s say you have a $2,000 balance on your credit card. You continue paying your mortgage, utilities, and food – just necessities – and all your extra income goes to paying off your credit card. No eating out at restaurants, no new clothes, no movies, no concerts, no vacations, etc until the credit card is paid off. Once you’re debt free, you start paying for luxuries again only when you have the cash to do so. Makes sense, right?
So, couldn’t our government do that? Or is that solution too simple?
Throwback
Today I found myself in Walmart (a rare occurrence). As I was paying, I noticed some Lisa Frank merchandise next to the candy, antibacterial gel, mini flashlights, and other must-have items. Wow! Instant nostalgia! How I loved my Lisa Frank notebooks, binders, and other school supplies in 4th-6th grade! And you know what struck me? The stuff appears to have not changed a single bit since the 1980s. I can’t believe it’s still popular. Or is it? I actually have no idea, since my daughter is almost 15. But it’s still being sold, so I’m assuming people are buying it. Were any of you fans of Lisa Frank stuff?
What we see depends on what we’re looking for.
I saw a sign today that said:
“What we see depends on what we’re looking for.”
I usually read inspirational quotes with glazed over eyes. I’m not really a fan of fluff. But this statement was profound.
What we see depends on what we’re looking for. Let that marinate for a few minutes.
This simple statement leads to complex results, and those results aren’t necessarily a good thing.
My initial thought was regarding politics, since that’s what’s been dominating the news, and thus my facebook feed. If you’re a Republican, you can find a million things wrong with Democrats. If you’re a Democrat, you can find a million things wrong with Republicans. But this isn’t just political. It’s for anything. Dieting. Exercising. Parenting. Basically, given the information overload known as the internet, you can find countless reasons to support a cause/person. Likewise, you can find countless reasons to despise a cause/person.
I’ve heard this quote many times: “You can’t love someone when you’re busy judging them.”
What we see depends on what we’re looking for. Sometimes we’re so busy complaining about how the glass is half empty, that we fail to realize it’s half full.
What if we all saw the glass half full? What if we all looked for the positive, instead of focusing on the negative? What if we all looked for the good in people, rather than focusing on the things that piss us off? What if we all focused on loving, rather than judging?
What we see depends on what we’re looking for.
Guess who’s ten?
Our son Nathan was born on January 28, 2002, at 10:11 in the morning. Of our five children, he was the only one not born in Destin’s greater metropolitan area. He has done so many hilarious things in his young life. Most of the hilarity is accidental, and he doesn’t actually realize he’s funny. I love telling stories of his craziness. His typical response? “Quit talking about when I was a freaking baby!” So, in honor of his tenth birthday, I’ll respect his wishes and not talk about when he was a freaking baby. But for the record, he told me that this was his best birthday ever. So, high five to myself for making it special. Happy birthday, Nathan!
Nathan, late 2002
Pink Water Designs
This is my sweet friend Anna:
She recently started her own business, Pink Water Designs. I love, love, love her bohemian, hippie, vintage-inspired headbands! Please visit her etsy shop and like her on facebook. And then tell your friends so that her business can go viral, in a good way. Thanks, friends!
Who is Katie Davis?
Who is Katie Davis? And why should you care? I’ll tell you why. She’s doing amazing things in Uganda. She’s living a life that I don’t personally think I would have the courage to. It’s unbelievable how much she’s accomplished and how many lives she’s impacted since graduating high school in 2007. This is her story:
Read Katie’s blog.
Buy Katie’s book.
Learn more about Amazima.
Support women in Uganda by purchasing these necklaces.
