The Little Panther

Before I post this story, I want to assure you that no, I am not in the practice of dressing up my pets. However, I have a teddy bear that is outfitted in a full Panthers uniform and when I saw my little Holly playing with the jersey I could not resist making her wear it for this super cute photo op!

Unfortunately the Panthers lost to the Vikings this week (which may have been my punishment for humiliating Holly like this!) I think we’re going to the game this week so cross your fingers that the Panthers return to form and crush the Falcons on Sunday!

The Christmas Decoration Quiz

In response to the Christmas decorations that are ALREADY up in stores (can you believe it?!) my friend Jennifer found this quiz and posted it on her site. I love stuff like this so I thought I would try it too. Let me know if you want to put it on your site too and we can compare notes!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I generally use wrapping paper but there will usually be a few gift bags under the tree as well

2. Real tree or artificial? I prefer real trees but we have a pretty nice artificial tree that we’ve been using for the past several years and so far it’s holding up pretty well

3. When do you put up your tree? Right after Thanksgiving…I think this is response to when I was growing up my family waiting until the week or so before Christmas to put up the tree. We never really had a tree up for very long so now I want lots of time to be able to enjoy it!

4. When do you take the tree down? Around New Year’s

5. Do you like eggnog? No way!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Easy – the Barbie dream house! I remember seeing that Santa had set it out in our living room and running over to it in shock that I actually owned my very own dream house!!

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Not yet…I finally found one last year that I love (and is not tacky!) but it is a little expensive so unfortunately it is still at the store. I’m still in search of a non-tacky, non-expensive Nativity scene.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Probably my brother-in-law Brian. His interests are completely different from my husband’s and I really try to be creative and find things other than sweaters for him but he is definitely the hardest one on my list!

9. Easiest person to buy for? Myself?! Just kidding – my mom is pretty easy and Patrick actually isn’t too hard either

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Hmmm…I know there have been tons of clothes that have had to be exchanged or returned but nothing that stands out as the “worst”

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Old fashioned cards in the mail (although I haven’t been sending nearly as many in recent years as I used to)

12. Favorite Christmas movie? Miracle on 34th Street

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Sometime in mid-October…I usually try to be done by the first week in December so that I can relax and enjoy the Christmas season

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I can recall, but I know I’ve thought about it before!

15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? Peppermint ice cream (why oh why is this not available year round?!) I also love homemade Christmas cookies

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear

17. Favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells and O Holy Night (and the Little Drummer Boy will always remind me of my Baba – my mom’s mother)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We travel…although both of our families are within 3 hours of our home we usually spend some quality time in the car on Christmas Day to get to everybody. I would love to not have to be in the car on Christmas Day at least one year (but it’s worth it to get to see our families!)

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Let’s see…Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, and Rudolph; is that everybody?

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? I prefer an angel but we don’t have either for our tree (I’m still looking for something non-tacky and refuse to purchase anything until I find what I’m looking for!)

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Neither - I grew up opening them on Christmas afternoon after Mass (which I know sounds really weird to most people but I love this tradition and want to keep it going when I have children!) You get to open your present from Santa in the morning, get ready for and go to church, come home and have lunch, and then open all the other presents. It’s a great way to make it last all day!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The parking lot at the mall…fortunately I frequent our local mall and so I know of a couple good parking places that are usually empty during this time of year

23. What is the "corniest" family tradition you do, or miss doing? We don’t really have any traditions I consider “corny.” (We really don’t have too many traditions now that I think about it!) My family always has a candlelit Christmas Eve dinner which I really love.

24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented? The blow up lawn decorations that so many people in my neighborhood seem to think look cool – they are extremely tacky and are not in any way shape or form cool. My advice is to save your money (those things aren’t cheap!) and use it for something worthwhile…like a charity!

25. Which looks the best, theme trees or homey trees? Themed trees are beautiful, but our tree is a “homey” tree full of ornaments that my mom bought me each year growing up and ones that Patrick and I have collected together that have special meaning to us

26. What does Christmas mean to you? First and foremost Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus! The Christmas season is a time to spend with loved ones and celebrate all of the blessings in our lives. Christmas has also come to mean some serious time spent in the car (see above!)

The (Not So) Brave Little Kitten

My Caddy had her follow up vet appointment yesterday and my heart broke as I watched her quiver in fear. She’s our youngest cat (she turned 1 at the end of April) and watching her reminded me of what a long road she has already traveled…

A little over a year ago (July 4th to be exact) my husband called me from the golf course where he works and told me about this terrified little kitten that was trapped in the cart barn. Patrick was able to go out and dispel the crowd that had surrounded the kitten and wrap the kitten in a blanket that he placed in a cardboard box. He said that the kitten was hissing and spitting the whole time, but it was so small he could not just leave it on its own. A girl he worked with was going to take the kitten to her vet’s office so that it could be adopted but she called Patrick later that night and informed him that the vet wouldn’t take the kitten and that she couldn’t keep it. This is one of the many reasons I love my husband – without thinking about how this would put a burden on us he instead focused on how that tiny kitten was so starved for love and a good home that we agreed to take it. (Even though we had already rescued two cats and were not looking for another, something told me that we were meant to embark on this journey.) That same night Patrick brought a large cardboard box into our office at home and I peeked in and saw this tiny little face staring back up at me. Before Patrick could stop me (I had no idea that we were dealing with a wild cat!) I shook a little feather toy above the kitten’s head. I was promptly greeted with a loud HISS! Startled, I jumped back and wasn’t sure what to make of our new arrival. We put food and a litter box out and began the extremely long process of rehabilitating our Caddy. (Appropriately named considering the place of her introduction into our lives!)

For months (yes, months) she hid under the desk in the office and we could only see her with the aid of a flashlight while we crawled on the floor. Sometimes her little paws would fly out at us and she would try to scratch so I was left wearing gloves to protect my hands from her claws. Patrick’s hands were full of scars during those early days. We did a lot of research on feral cats and were hopeful that she could be domesticated since she was so young when we found her (about 2 - 3 months or so.) We would put food on a spoon and slide it under the desk so that she would learn to associate her food with us. I would sit in a corner and read aloud to her at night so that she could get used to hearing the sound of our voices. The only times we saw more than her paws were when we put her dinner out at night. We would leave the light on in the room and then go stand outside in the yard so we could watch her emerge from the safety of her desk. (She would fly under that thing if she even remotely thought that we were approaching her room.) Our neighbors must have thought that we had lost our minds during those early days!

As the months went by she eventually starting staying out in the room when we would come in to feed her, but if we got too close she would again dive for cover under the desk. Then one Sunday afternoon, a breakthrough occurred. I had been praying for some sign for months that we were doing the right thing by keeping her indoors and trying to domesticate her and for strength to continue to love this most “unlovable” of God’s creatures. I read the newspaper to her, and feeling kind of tired I decided to lay down for a minute. I dozed off and awoke to the feeling of little Caddy nuzzling up to my side and taking a nap herself. I dared not move for almost 2 hours that afternoon. It was a miracle! Her progress came in leaps and bounds from that moment on. It took a long time for her to feel brave enough to leave the safety of her office and explore the rest of the house, but eventually she made herself at home. It took forever for her to let us pet her, but now her nickname is “Caddy Cuddles” because she nuzzles and hugs and follows us around all the time. We thought she was not able to purr because she had gone so long in her life without purring, and then one day it started and she has been rumbling like a freight train ever since.

The very first time we took her to the vet in those early days was such a traumatic experience for her. The vet said that she could not treat Caddy (even with her large gloves on) since she was so wild and she would have to put her under anesthesia to give her the shots she needed. We combined her shots with the necessary surgeries she required as well and brought her home where she has settled into life as a regular house cat quite nicely. Yesterday was her one year appointment and even though she’s been completely domesticated for almost a year now, we were unsure of how her appointment would go.

I left work at lunchtime to go meet Patrick at the vet’s office (it’s very close to my office!) and saw my (not so) brave little Caddy shaking like a leaf. She was terrified but this time the vet was able to give her both of the shots she needed without needing gloves or anesthesia. I was so proud but so heartbroken that she was so scared. She was hiding under the bed last night but this morning I can see signs that she’s feeling better and has forgiven us for the whole ordeal. She has really been such a blessing in our lives and even though her first few months were full of challenges and there were times were I thought it was a useless effort, we have been reward ten times over with one of the sweetest, most affectionate cats ever. She still hides when strangers come to the house and I don’t know if she will ever be a truly brave cat, but she has become part of our crazy family and I am forever grateful for her!

Friends & Football

This was a great weekend! On Friday Patrick and I had our regular date night after our workout at the gym and then on Saturday morning my friend Jennifer and I went for our long run of the week. I love this new tradition - it's great to actually be outside running and spending time with a friend. This was only our second Saturday morning run, but we went even further this week than we did last time, and I'm crossing my fingers that will continue with each coming week. I've been pretty consistent with my running over the past year and there's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment after a long run!

Since Patrick was busy with a golf tournament for the rest of the weekend my dear friend Meredith came to visit. I love our girly weekends because we put on pajamas and watch a bunch of movies while we catch up. While this might sound totally boring to most people (my husband included!) we love it! Meredith and I have been friends since our days in the sorority and she is one of the people that I know will always be there no matter what. I love that even though we don't live in the same city we make a point to get together regularly to catch up. Fortunately we only live about an hour and a half apart so she's not nearly as far away as some of my other friends.

On Sunday afternoon I settled in for an afternoon of football. Once again the Panthers were on the prowl, this time taking on the Chicago Bears. I love rooting for the Panthers because it's kind of like rooting for the underdog. So far this season they've played with passion and even though they were down for most of the game, in the fourth quarter they took control and won another exciting game. I can't believe they're 2-0...what an awesome start to the season!

Patrick is playing in his softball league playoffs this evening and I'm trying to get myself ready to face another week. This was a great weekend and I'm already looking forward to the next one...is it Friday yet?!

Are You Ready for Some Football?!

Hooray - it's finally NFL season again! Patrick and I are both huge Carolina Panthers fans and so we have been looking forward to this day for quite some time. We were lucky to get to attend one of the pre-season games already this season, and hopefully we'll get the opportunity to attend some regular season games as well. Our beloved Panthers were slated to be a 9 point underdog in today's game and were without superstar Steve Smith so the outlook was grim initially. But...you should never underestimate the Cardiac Cats! The Panthers were in control and did not disappoint their fans. It was awesome to finally have Jake back - I love the passion and enthusiasm with which he plays the game. You never have to doubt that his heart is in it! In the last 2 minutes of the game we were down and Jake led the team down the field to an impressive last second (literally, last second!) touchdown and victory. I'm so glad it's football season again!



Oh, and for Halloween at work last year we all dressed up so I came in wearing my Ken Lucas (our best player in my opinion!) jersey so I could be a football player. I'm not too sure the guys actually wear matching hair ribbons though! Go Panthers!!