August 12-17 was absolutely fantastic, I have to say. Justin came up to visit us and we had a wonderful time. The boys had never met him so I was a little nervous, but they adored him. I should have known that they would. It is so rare for them to dislike anyone.

On Wednesday, we all went to go see The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. I have to say that Jonah was a much better movie. I think the loss of Phil Vischer at Big Idea really showed. What also showed was the theatre's screw up. They played 2 free movies; Alvin and the Chipmunks and Veggies. So we troop into Theatre 14 with our popcorn and drinks and get comfy...just to hear the opening of Alvin. Oops! I went down with 1 other parent (I can't believe that nobody else was willing to say anything) and told them of the screw up. Next thing I know, we have to switch theatres! Oy..imagine something like 200 people, most of which are kids, trying to get out of one and into the other and vise versa. We did enjoy the outting though and followed it up with pizza and grocery shopping before spending the rest of the day relaxing.

Thursday was totally spent lounging around the house and just enjoying each other's company. Friday though was another story! We decided to pack us all up and head over to the zoo. We had a great time and saw all of the animals except for the giraffes and otters. That's the 2nd time we've gone and not seen the otters! Silly things!









We spent our Saturday relaxing and enjoying each other's company and then Justin and I were lucky enough to be able to go out and have some nice grown up time together that night. Taking him to the airport on Sunday was sad, but we can't wait for him to come visit again!

So, like I mentioned, I got to go with Steph and Klo to the show in Valley Forge, PA. All I can say is whew, it is always an adventure. I got up at the crack of dawn after like zero sleep and got to the airport. My flights were all on time and I arrived in Philly safe and sound. I think Klo and Steph forgot me though! I had to wait like an hour or more for them to come and fetch me. They were out looking for someplace for lunch! Anyway, they did come get me and I was quite content to sit in the back seat and just relax for the drive. I confess...I love being chauffered around. There weren't many pictures taken of the weekend..yet again, my batteries died. This time I had new ones, but I'd forgotten to charge them before the trip! Oy! Here are the ones I do have, though :


The lighthouse I just *had* to take a picture of for Klo!


Famous Klo -- Trying to hide behind dark shades, but we all recognize her! This time she actually signed an autograph!


Steph's beautiful fence picture.


The gatehouse.

I have no idea how many machines we actually sold..somewhere around 16, I think. I do know that I was worn out when I got home! All that loading and unloading of boxes off of pallets, I think. Steph and I had a lot of fun playing pranks on Klo..like Famous Klo stood here! As always, the company was the best and the food was good. I cannot wait until the next one!

Holy cow! How the heck has it been another month since I last posted? I obviously don't have the first clue..lol! So, I'm gonna do a few posts to help catch up and seriously am going to work on putting posting back into my daily routine.

So...first fun thing... I got to go to Michigan to see my family. I was only there for about 12 hours before I flew off to Philly for a fantastic show with Steph and Klo! Here are just a few of the pictures from there...


Don't these two look like the same kid? It's hard to believe that they're cousins!


My sister's kids : Alex, Brianna, Dominic & Caitlyn


A very sweet, but grungy Caitlyn


Dominic & His Great-Grandmother

Keep your eyes open for another update real soon! I have Philly pics, not many but a few to post and all sorts of other updates to come!

Here he is, in all his stately..ok kitty glory. For more of the story behind the photos, check out my Flickr account.

I want to start out by thanking all of you who sent your condolences about Sylver. He really was one of my babies and a well loved member of our family. Yesterday was a really hard day for me.

After a lot of tears and hugs and talking, we decided to honor his memory by adopting another shelter cat. Today, we drove 45 minutes to a fantastic non-profit, no kill shelter. We took along some newspaper and some canned cat food to donate in Syl's name.

It took us nearly 2 hours of looking and petting and talking, but we found our new love. His name is Byron. We've dubbed him LB, short for Lord Byron. I have to say though, stately this cat is not. He's a master sneak attacker and he loves to roll around on the floor and climb up on shoulders.

This is the picture from the website. I'll post some more once I manage to get some. He was too busy playing to pause for pictures while we were at the shelter.

For those of you out there who wished there was something they could do to help ease my pain, I would like to ask you to do something to honor Sylver and the life he led. It may have been short, but it was happy and full of love.

I would ask that you take the time to locate your closest no-kill animal shelter/rescue group. Once you find it, please do one (or heck, all) of the following : a) adopt a pet. there are so many animals out there that need loving homes. b) offer your love and home for foster care. yes, there are animals out there who need a place to stay until slots open up in the shelters. c.) make a donation. It could be your time, your money or some of the things that the shelter needs.

If there isn't a no-kill animal shelter in your area, let me point you to the one we visited today. The people there were so nice, the areas were all clean and the animals were obviously very well taken care of. If you're looking to adopt a cat, they're even waiving the adoption fees from now until August 1st. You can find more information here about the available animals, the things they need and where you can find them.

One last thing...and I may sound like Bob Barker here, but please be a responsible pet owner and have your babies spayed or neutered. There are so many out there already that need loving homes, please don't add to the problem by allowing your animals to have unwanted babies.

I'm devestated to have to say that my sweet boy, my Sylver kitty has died. I found him in the closet this afternoon and I dont think I've stopped crying since. He was a hellion, this one. He used to hide under the table and jump out at the boys. He was obsessed with water. He would walk the edge of the tub while I had a shower, just being there. He was my salvation through the darkest hours of this past year. I am totally heartbroken over this. I adored this crazy little boy, my Sylly...

I am having such an argh kinda day. I woke up when the alarm went off and already the house was a million degrees. I have fans running in every room and it does hardly any good. Then, the boys were fighting because Roger took the last clean shirt from the basket. You have got to be kidding me. So, I pulled open their drawer...and the drawer front came off one side. Great.

Then, it was off to pick up food from our local Angel Food place. Did the pick up just fine. Went to place the order for next month and they don't take foodstamps. Yes, for those that don't know. I was forced to go on food stamps after the divorce so that I could keep going to school. Anyway, they're supposed to take them but my site isn't set up for them. Peachy. So now I have to find out who is and place my order there.

Got back here. It took me 3 trips on a badly hurting foot to get the boxes of food inside. Then, the boys started trying to kill each other. I mean WWIII in here. Ben feels the need to boss Roger around and to hit him when he won't listen. Roger feels the need to beat on his brother and to just be stubborn.

Did I mention it's not even noon? A million sticky degrees in here? Oh..and it's Day 1 of my period so I'm not at peak shape?