Throwback Thursday: Cats

It's Throwback Thursday, and I would like to reminisce on all the cats I've owned, met, and forcefully snuggled. 

My oldest cat, named Cloe, has been diagnosed with diabetes. She's 15 years old and her quality of life has declined to the point where we've decided that a humane euthanasia is the best option for her. So, as a kind of tribute to Cloe, here's 10 throwback kitty photos.

The only friend I made while visiting Italy was this cat:

Tank and Savannah being cute:

Savannah, left and Tank, right

My Dad and I visited our cowboy friend, and all the animals (including Jake the beast-cat) couldn't get enough attention from him:

The tiger on my dad's lap is named Jake, and he beat the shit out of a coyote once.

Tank and Boyfriend having their snuggle time:

When I cuddled Bill, Boyfriend's brother's cat (her name is actually Belle, but she meows like a grouchy old many so Bill is her spirit name).

 

Taking a selfie with my little niece Savannah:

My cats, Annie (left) and Cloe (right) back when they actually got along (sort of).

This weird hairless cat that showed up at the barn one day: 

I'd also like to mention that this cat also had painted nails. Pink. Pink claws.

Boyfriend, his buddy and I went on a road trip last summer. We stopped in a town called Field and we met a new friend that liked to stand on our shoulders:

Nick, left and Boyfriend, right, pose with their new buddy in Field, AB.

And all those times Annie tried to trick us into thinking she's cute...

Almost done!

Hello, everyone! 

I am currently freaking out and really excited- both at the same time- because I am almost done school. Today was technically the last day ever in my journalism program, but I still have some stuff to finish up. 

I have to wind up my internship, which was supposed to have ended a week ago, and I also have a big project to wrap up today. So close... but it feels so far. So I'm typing away like a mad woman, desperate to finish this program and never write another news story ever again.

me right now: 

What a great way to come out of a two year post secondary education. Learn how to do something with the training to make it one's career, and on the last day of classes decide I WILL NEVER DO THIS EVER AGAIN THANK GOD. And I wonder why I've never been praised for my attitude.

So I suppose this is a bit of a pre-celebratory post. I'm almost done, but before that happens and before I  can celebrate, I still have a lot of work to do. 

So if you'll excuse me, I have some last minute panicked typing to do. 

This is me.

Gardening is awesome

Hello Everyone!

I've found myself in an emotional crisis over the past week. Currently, gardening (for the first time ever) is my reprieve. In all seriousness, 

gardening is improving my quality of life

I mentioned in my last post that I've started a number of different herbs and vegetables. I also mentioned that I placed a big beautiful butternut squash (BNS for short) close to my BNS seedlings. Y'all thought I was crazy but this morning I awoke to two big beautiful BNS sprouts! The role model squash has been working fabulously! On the topic of butternut squash, my boyfriend doesn't like the BNS shortening. He thinks it sounds like a disease or something else that's quite terrible. 

My current dilemma is the fact that I want to cook the role model squash for dinner tonight. I'm planning on making a butternut squash curried lentil dish. But I don' think I can butcher the role model squash in front of the seedlings! I can't do that! Boyfriend said that if I cook the role model squash, the little seedlings will refuse to grow. 

That's all I have to live for!?  They'll cry, as their little tender green selves witness the massacre of the adult BNS. I'm hoping that they'll be slightly uplifted by the smell of curry and perhaps they'll dream of one day becoming a beautiful, delicious meal. 

Butternut squash seedling has a beautiful golden role model

I've actually become so excited by the potential of having a bountiful garden that I went to Home Depot and purchased more seeds (and 3 strawberry plants). This afternoon I started 4 pumpkins and 4 watermelons in jiffy cups.

Once I get start working the soil outside and prepping the beds, I'll just have to wait till the last frost before I can move my seedlings to the great outdoors. I plan on keeping my terracotta herb garden indoors, but I'll also plant some herbs outside.

Parsley is sprouting like crazy in my indoor garden

If everything goes according to plan and my seeds all behave, I will have a beautiful garden and many vegetables and fruits to eat. I'll be growing: 

-Purple Carrots
-Carrots
-Peas 
-Butternut Squash 
-Sweet Pumpkins 
-Watermelon 
-Strawberries 
-Beets 
-Lettuce 
-Mini Bell Peppers 
-Basil
-Parsley
-Dill 
-Rosemary 

I'm so excited I can't even wait. I plan on sketching out my garden plan tonight, and I've been reading and studying gardening online. I am convinced that I will have an amazing garden, and this hope and excitement is helping me pull through my emotional crisis and my physical pain. Endometriosis won't stop for my garden, but my excitement for my garden is overcoming the endometriosis blues. 

Strawberries, role model squash, and makeshift greenhouses all chilling in my kitchen

Last summer I started this blog to document my transition to farmerhood. I've since moved into the city with my boyfriend, but perhaps I can maintain my farmer status through my vegetable garden. I'm also planning on getting a duckling (or two. or three.) but I'll have to be extra cute to get my boyfriend on board.
 
Ideally I want a mallard duckling, but I think the only way to do that is by egg-napping a duck nest and I'm not terrible enough to do that. 
SO-- if anyone can hook me up with some duck eggs and an incubator I will be SO THANKFUL. Just don't tell my boyfriend. Or my landlord.

I will be happily blogging about my garden through the spring and summer. If all goes according to plan, we will be eating well at the end of the season!

I can grow things

It's officially spring here in Calgary. We've had beautiful sunny days, and long golden evenings. Ducks are waddling about and quacking away, birds are chirping and gathering grass for their nests, and Boyfriend and I have been taking long walks around the community. 

I've had this fantasy where I have a garden and many houseplants, including an herb garden and fruit bearing trees. I've decided that my first spring in our new house would be the perfect time to start learning how to grow things.

Here's the thing. I'm great at taking care of animals. I've saved a number of animal lives, and taking care of them is what makes me tick. I love animals and I'm damn good at keeping them alive. Plants, however, prove to be a different story. I kill plants. 

I love receiving flowers, but they always seem to die prematurely as I'll forget to water them regularly and don't trim the stems. I think that perhaps a cactus garden would be more my level, but I've taken on the challenge of growing delicate green things that need care and attention. 

In terracotta pots that serve as my indoor herb garden containers, I planted basil, parsley, dill, and rosemary. After weeks of watering dirt and feeling discouraged, I've noticed that my herbs are growing! Basil was the first to pop up, followed by dill (which can't figure out what direction to grow in and tries to go back into the dirt). Parsley-- and lots of it-- popped up this morning. Still waiting on the rosemary to sprout.

In addition to my herbs, I started some of my garden veggies in jiffy pots indoors. So far I've started my peppers, butternut squash, and lettuce. They're in a homemade green house, in my kitchen. I've put the jiffy pots in an old plastic muffin container, and put the little green house over a heating pad. 2 jiffy pots have sprouting lettuce in them. I can't wait for my peppers and squash to come up. 

Today I purchased a butternut squash at the grocery store. I put the squash by the greenhouses so the butternut squash seeds would have a role model to look up to. My mother thought I was full-blown looney toons after I told her this.

I'm still not sure when to start my garden outdoors. Calgary weather is weird, and I feel like we still have another snowstorm coming. It always snows on May Long Weekend. With my luck I'd plant all my seeds and transplant the sprouts just to have it snow overnight and kill them all. 

Just when you think winter is finally behind you...

I plan on completing my garden with tomatoes, carrots, beets, peas, pumpkin, cantaloup, and strawberries.This is incredibly exciting for both Boyfriend and I. We can't wait to just pick food out of our backyard. Plus, I feel proud that I can grow things! Now maybe my garden will impress Boyfriend enough for him to let me get a bunny. I need a pet bunny.

My bunny will, of course, but adopted from a shelter. Pet stores have no need to sell bunnies. There are so many bunnies waiting for homes. Always make sure to spay or neuter your pet rabbit! This isn't an option-- get them fixed!!!! 

My Chronic Illness, Illustrated

Back in September, I composed a delightful post titled My Chronic Illness: A Visual Journey. My struggle with Endometriosis effects many aspects of my life. Even though it's been a hellish ride and I struggle to keep it together sometimes, I always try to keep a sense of humor. Laughter is so very important! I'm not so sure about the whole "laughter is the best medicine" bit, but I do know for a fact that it helps with the healing.

Since I published my 30 Day Invisible Illness Challenge, I have been flooded with love and support from friends and loved ones. Unfortunately, my daily ordeals with this disease aren't limited to the month of March. It's year-round. And in this post, I want to detail every day life with a painful, incurable disease-- and I want to make it funny. So, without further ado...

My Chronic Illness: A Visual Journey Part 2

1.) When I realize that I have to go to work/school but I'm sore and tired: 

2.) When a doctor asks if I'll let him/her do a pelvic exam:

3.) When I start bleeding unexpectedly and remember I'm wearing nice panties:

4.) Trying to stick to the Endometriosis Diet: 

(and then one day later...) 

5.) Just when I think I'm starting to get better: 

6.) When a nurse asks if I'm ready to have an IV line put in: 

(but in reality) 

7.) When my pain killers aren't working so I mix a few:

8.) That time my doctor removed my IUD, injected botox into my abdomen and vajayjay, and then stabbed an intramuscular injection into my arm all in one miserable appointment:

 9.)When I'm camped out in the living room with painkillers, a heating pad, and snacks:

10.) When an awful pain flare sneaks up on me:

11.) When my boyfriend forces me to eat breakfast even though I'm nauseous

12.) After I cook a big dinner for company:

Throwback Thursday on Friday

I know it's Friday, but after discovering Facebook's new "memories" feature, I'm having a throwback Thursday. Because apparently Thursday is the designated day of the week for reminiscence. I'm poking through ancient Facebook albums, from my University of Calgary days and beyond. 
Care to join me? 

Who is Ross and why are there library books on his project shelf? 

That time my alarm clock told me to have a good day

When I drew Klaus the Nazi goldfish in my German Language textbook...

Patrick and I were toy car shopping at Toys R Us when we found this beaut:

The day I joined the Porn Industry: 

When I went loopy for fruit loops

The worst photo shoot in history...

The day we set up Brad's 80 inch TV

Humiliating Scooter. Again.

When David had to lift the hood of his car and do mechanic things at the worst time

This blog is my diary (and I need to vent)

I saw my specialist last Thursday. He said that he was very concerned that I have a blood disease (I can't remember the name exactly) and he ordered a number of blood tests to see what was going on with me. After the dreaded closure time test, I waited a few weeks to see my specialist, all the while avoiding the bottle of Cyklokapron leering at me from inside the pantry. 

The blood tests confirmed that there is nothing abnormal about my blood. So my bleeding is a hormone issue. My specialist said to take 2 500mg tablets of Tranexamic Acid 3 times a day. It's taken a little over a week, but finally finally, my bleeding has stopped. The only downside is that the Cyklokapron (which I call the "Horse Pills" (because they're huge)) makes me very nauseous. 

I've been having a very, very hard time being productive lately. I have been absolutely exhausted these past couple weeks. I have been bleeding so much, and my blood pressure went from being 90 (which is considered abnormally low and the marker for hypotension) to 82. I've been feeling faint, nauseous, sore, light headed, cranky, and poorly. I have a ton of work to get done for my internship with a local magazine, but I'm struggling to concentrate. I'm only comfortable when I'm laying down, and when I'm laying down, I fall asleep. My biggest problem lately has been feeling exhausted. It doesn't matter how long I sleep or nap for, when I wake up, I feel just as exhausted as I did when I went to sleep. I feel like I haven't slept for ages, when all I've been doing is sleeping. What the hell. 

Yesterday I cooked an Easter dinner for my family. When everything was finally served and on the table, this was me: 

I don't like this hospital.

I see my specialist today, and it's an exciting day because we find out if I have a blood disorder or not. As it turns out, 500mg of Tranexamix Acid won't control my bleeding. So this appointment should be a curious one. 

But I don't really want to go. 

I'm just being a great big baby, to be honest. I just don't like going to see my specialist because he works out of a hospital and it's the same hospital that my grand mother died in when I was 13. Then my beloved papa died there in 2013. And when I'm waiting around for my specialist, there's almost always a "code blue". So I'm just sitting there all glumly and then... someones dies. 

It's no fun. That's why I like having my boyfriend go with me. The support is nice.