OMG GUYS! I GOT A KITTY!

Isn't he just the cutest little thing ever!?!?!?!??!

Everyone, meet Sam.

Saturday afternoon, after stopping by a charity car show my sister was working, we decided to stop by Petsmart to pick up the stuff we would need for when we decided to get a cat. We, in no way, shape, or form, expected to get a cat on Saturday. I just figured it would be best to have all the supplies, like a catbox and food dishes, in case we decided to get one. Knowing me, it would have been a spur-of-the-moment decision. And it was...

Anyway, so we're in Petsmart, with a full cart, and I talk Dan into viewing the adoptable cats that they bring in on the weekend. Yeah, he should have known I wouldn't leave empty-handed at that point.

Well, they had a kennel with five little kittens, all about eight weeks old. In this kennel, four of the kittens were going crazy playing with the toys. The fifth one just sat in the back, looking at them all like they were crazy. Yep, we found our love. His name was "Dane". We didn't originally want a boy cat, but you guys, he is the cutest little thing. Once the lady put him in my arms, I started crying like a crazy person. I think it has been well-established that I am, in fact, a crazy person, but this is when I am my most crazy. I can't go into pet stores without tearing up because it breaks my heart to leave without them all. Even though I knew I was taking him home, I was still silently sobbing in a glass room at Petsmart. I am such a loser.

So as I stood there crying on a kitten that can easily fit in my hand, Dan filled out all the paperwork. Because this was a last-minute decision, I had to call my mom to meet us at the store because we drove the Jeep and I wasn't going to scare the crap out of the love of my life in an open-top Jeep. We put him back in the kennel as we grabbed the last of the supplies, purchased a cat carrier, loaded him up in my mom's car, and drove him home.

We decided, since he's just so little, to let him explore the house little by little. At first, we set up everything he needed in the hall bathroom. He's got his carrier/bed, his cat box, and his food and water in about a 3 foot radius. Using a cardboard box, we blocked off the end of the hall, closed all the doors off the hall, let him loose.

And then, nothing. He sat in his carrier for hours. Granted he had a busy day, but that's when you decide to take a nap? We knew we picked the calm one, but we at least expect a kitten to do something. (Sidenote: we found out once we adopted him that he had been neutered two days prior. This is why we think he was deceptively calm.) Yeah, those hopes that he would do something quickly became a thing of the past because this cat is crazy. I have never met a cat that loves to cuddle as much as this guy. We thought we were getting the independent, calm kitten, but he is the neediest, loneliest cat. He is not happy unless he is in your lap, chewing on your fingers. If you are not using your hand to pet him, he will quickly remind you to by nipping your fingertips. If you leave (or my favorite, if he leaves you to go around the corner to eat), he will cry until he sees you again. And not just any cry, the saddest little kitten mews and squeaks, like you're hurting him by not constantly petting him.

After about four hours of calling him "Dane", we agreed a new name needed to be picked. My brain can't handle a husband named "Dan" and a cat named "Dane". We settled on Sam because Dan and I both had dogs growing up named Sam (mine was a Black Lab, his was his favorite stuffed toy). He does look like a Sammy.

I love my little Sammy.

Fan of Friday: Week of 5/18/2012

Have you ever seen the movie "Cherry 2000"? Have you ever even heard of the movie "Cherry 2000"? Probably not, but you should have because it's awesome.

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I'll be honest, it's a terrible movie. A terrible, terrible movie. But at the same time, it has to be the definition of campy. Post-apocalyptic future? Check. Robots and crazy technology that will never exist? Check. 80's futuristic fashion? Check. Car chases through desert? Check.

The first time I saw it, it was on accident. The movie I was watching on one of those high numbered digital channels ended (like 11-2 or something) and being too lazy to change the channel on a Saturday afternoon, I caught the first 15 minutes before having to leave. Luckily for me and the rest of humanity, they replayed it the next weekend. Yay!

Here's a basic breakdown. It's about this rich guy who accidentally breaks his robot wife. To find the replacement parts for her, he hires a bounty hunter to take him through the wasteland desert outlaw country to a rumored robot warehouse.

Oops! Broke my robot wife

For some star power, the bounty hunter was played by Melanie Griffith, who would skyrocket a couple of years later in the movie "Working Girl".

Random fact: the movie was supposed to be released in the summer of 1986, then postponed until spring 1987, then fall 1987, then finally ultimately being released direct to VHS in fall 1988. Because of the shifting of the schedule, the soundtrack became a collectors item as only 1500 were sold when it was released in 1986, without the movie itself being released. 

So, if you're one of those hip people with a DVR or Netflix, search it out. You will not be disappointed.

The Trial Run

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This past weekend, my aunt, my cousin, and her son (my second cousin) came down to Tucson for Mother's Day. My grandpa's health hasn't been great lately and it was a good excuse to spend some time with my grandparents. And because my sister moved back in with my parents and my grandparents recently moved into an assisted living facility, guess who they stayed with?

Yep, someone besides Dan's parents finally used our guest room. This would absolutely not be noteworthy, except did I mention that my cousin's son is 18 months old?

I will be the first to admit I am not good with kids. I think they can smell my nervousness on me and they don't tend to like me either. So, for the longest time, I had this horrible fear of kids. I would actively avoid the baby aisle at Target. I'd panic when someone I knew from high school had gotten pregnant.

However, something in the last couple of years has softened my nerves. It could be a lot of different things. It could be spending time with the kids of my friends and family. It could be that I'm married now so an accidental pregnancy is no longer on the top of my list of worries (wouldn't that be a fun blog post?). Or, most likely, it could be that my own hormones have betrayed me, trying to ready me for the day I'm stuck with a bunch of rugrats.

Anyway, Dan and I were both pretty apprehensive about having him in our house because we had no idea what to expect. Would he be walking well enough so that we wouldn't have to foam the edge of the stone seat in front of our fireplace? Would he know enough words and language at 18 months so that we would have any sort clue what he needed? Was he a crier? What kind of food do you stock for a toddler?

After some last minute emails to my cousin, we kind of just winged it. And things went well. He had a bunch of dietary restrictions I couldn't have predicted anyway, but some trips to the grocery store solved that no problem. My grandma had a pack 'n play from the last time he visited that double as a baby bed. No, he wasn't a crier, but a bit of a happy shrieker. And while his vocabulary was mainly limited to bah (ball) and cah (car), he understood when we told him not to go somewhere or not to touch something.

The biggest shock to me was how well we handled it. Yes, we didn't have to do anything hard like feeding him, bathing him, or changing any diapers, but I don't think we felt overwhelmed by his presence. He warmed up to us fairly quickly. He would walk up to Dan and put his arms up near the Jeep, wanting to be held so he would have a better view. When he had his first swimming experience, he wanted to be bounced up and down by me in the water. I made up a game he loved called "We're on the floor". Pretty simple: lay on the floor, yell "WE'RE ON THE FLOOR!", wiggle and roll around like a crazy person, and listen to the shrieks of laughter as he falls over next to me and tries to wiggle.

Dan and I have always planned on having kids down the line, hopefully around the time we turn 30, but I've always been very tentative about the idea of us having kids. Between me not liking kids and Dan being an only child, how could we possibly raise tiny humans? I'm a total slob with a short fuse who likes to yell. Dan works crazy hours at work and is incredibly unreliable at getting home when he says he will, even if it is after a 10+ hour day. How could we possibly have the time, energy, patience, and coordination to have kids?

And yes, all those things will probably be true for a long time, maybe even once we have kids, but at least now I know we can make a toddler laugh and that's what's truly important, right?

Update: Also, just how cute is Dan with kids? They just love him.

Apparently I Dress like a Television Star

Once upon a time, I dressed like Sue from "The Middle". Now, apparently, I dress like Nell from "NCIS: Los Angeles".

I have the exact same horse print skirt from H and M. I love the skirt, but it always looks funny on me. Maybe it's because I don't know how to style it or my body shape, but it always feels odd. Perhaps if I took a note from Nell and paired it with a clean white blouse (which I already do), a pair of dark tights, and a cardigan, it'll feel less awkward. The tights should be a definitely because it's kind of like a wrap skirt and likes to fall open when I sit. Adding some tights would increase its modesty at work.

Witness it for yourself here in episode Neighborhood Watch.

Finally, As Promised...

Ok, things have been crazy busy. Well, probably normal busy for most people, but I live a simple life, so it's crazy busy for me. Between a weekend trip up to Phoenix to go to Ikea, painting more of the house, actually hanging out with friends, appointments and meetings after work, and frantically cleaning for my extended family coming into town this weekend, my time has been a wee bit stretched. Hell, it's been almost two weeks since I've posted! I haven't even posted in May yet!

Anyway, since things won't be slowing down anytime soon, I'll keep this short. In the aforementioned trip to Ikea, I finally bought a frame for my Zack Morris poster (once I stole it back from my sister). I've talked about my poster before because I had no idea how to fit it into my house with the overall style I wanted.

Well, I came up with the perfect solution. I found a place to hang it so that I would be able to love him, but he wouldn't freak out visitors.

Yep, Zack Morris now creepily makes eye contact with my husband while he's peeing. And it's just about the perfect size for our small master toilet room (what do you call the separate room in the bathroom for the toilet?)

The frame makes it classy, right?