Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday

Things I'm thankful for this week:

As always my family!!!! They will be on my list every week!!!

Thankful that the rescue cats are all safe and cared for right now...

Daily reminders that God has my back and all I have to do is the footwork...

Also thankful for all of  life's challenges as they have made me who I am today...

Very very very grateful for my recovery - without it I would have NOTHING!

Thankful for all of God's beauty in everyday life...look for it constantly - I promise it is there!

Thankful for the challenges and questions...where is my prince?!?! What will my employment future hold?? It keeps me talking to my God...

Thankful for this ONE definitely!!!!!

Thankful that we finally had the magistrate hearing and the neighbor has re-homed the dog that bit me. Maybe that poor thing can have a normal life with a normal family now!!! Also, I finally got my $10 for my antibiotic I had to pay for! UGH UGH UGH! It's finally over! YAY!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday!!!! HUGS to each and every one of you!

So, what are you thankful for this week?

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Join in here....

Sidewalk Barre Anyone??

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!

I hope everyone is having  a good week so far?!?!

Last night I was exhausted and I went to bed as soon as I got home from work - like 5:30 PM. No dinner, no nothing...straight to bed! I feel much better today so I wonder if I wasn't coming down with something and I cut it off!!!

Anyway...I woke up refreshed and happy so that is a win!

This morning I had scheduled a barre class for 5:30 AM...turns out that we got locked out of the studio. The girl that opened had taken all of her things into the studio and then brought the sidewalk sign out and ended up locking herself out, which in turn, locked us all of us out when we arrived for class. HA!

Thank goodness it was 55 degrees outside this AM.

We ended up having class outside on the strip mall sidewalk! HA HA! No one can say we are not flexible! Thanks Brittany for being so awesome!!!! This group of women is so awesome!!!!  It has been such a privilege to get to know them all.  #PureBarreRobinson

Also, I know you are all probably so sick of hearing about barn cats but I got another update from the barn owner this am and it is awesome!!! I will let you read it for yourself....

I think the cats are already so very happy there!!! YAY YAY YAY!

Speaking of cats...all you dog people must hate me by now...HA!!!! But....

....tonight I am going to see Cats musical at the Benedum in Pittsburgh. I am super excited!!!! I used to get two tickets and find a friend to go along but I decided this year to just get one and go with myself. I just have to decide if I will take myself to dinner first or not - HA HA!

I am super excited for this show!!!

That's it for my update. I hope everyone is has a great day - HUGS!

Talk to me please...I love your comments!!! Ever see Cats musical? Are you sick of me talking about cats? How is your day going?

Cats Rock

Hi everyone!!! As you can tell the last week or so has been truly crazy!!!  It has been a couple 24 hours since I checked in with you all and I am SOOO happy to say that ALL the kitties in my world appear to be doing better!!! YAY! And I mean ALL - I will explain everything in this post so get ready for a looooong update! HA!

The last time I checked in, a week and a half ago, the four feral cats would soon be on their way to the barn!

Well....the morning of relocation came and when Margo was putting the traps in her car to come pick me up - one the the kittens was able to escape!!!!! The escapee was the all black one that Gloria calls Scar (after the Lion King). It really put a damper on the morning as she tried EVERYTHING to find him but was OUT OF THERE (she said he darted out 'like a bat out of hell")! HA! The only good part is he escaped near a feeding colony of ferals that have also all been fixed so he will have a safe and warm place to eat and sleep if he sticks around there. We decided after she gave up on seeing him anytime soon that we needed to head to the barn with the remaining three ASAP. So she came and picked me up and this is what her car looked like - HA HA!

So we planned on setting up two cages in the barn and having two in one and another alone. We put the friendliest one in alone so the barn owner could socialize him first.  This is the set up...they have blankets and litter boxes, food and water and a little foam cooler to hid in if they need safe space. They will live in these crates for three weeks and then they will understand that this is their home and they will be safe here and hopefully not move out! Ha! THE BARN WAS AMAZING! It was all new and redone and so warm and cozy for them - I hope they stick around. The barn owner was also AMAZING - we could not have asked for a better home for them!

So this is how we were transferring from the crates to the cages...we wanted to make sure the cats went forward and did not dart out of the cages...

One of the cats getting ready to be transferred to his cage...

Cutie pie hiding after we moved him to the cage...

So. the one here on the left is the one that Gloria calls Buttons and he runs to her so we left him alone thinking he would be the first to warm up to the barn owner and we were right!!! He lets her pet him after just one week of being there!!!! She said the others were warming up to her too! YAY! She is super excited about how well it is going so far!

The night we set them up I took a picture of their home before we left and this is it!!! They were covered with comforters for a few days to get used to the farm noises (cows, chickens and tractors) in a safe place so they can feel warm and snuggly while they settle in.

So over the past week, I have gotten a few updates from the barn owner on how they are but here are two of my favorites I have to share with you guys....

And then this!!!!!..

And one more update that she sent to Margo...

I am super excited that she is happy to have them and it seems they are happy to be there! Fingers crossed next week when they get to leave the crates that they stick around and hang out for life!!! YAY!!!!

Then...to make the week even better... I got this update from Margo...

Our escapee Scar has found the feeding station and warming station and has been hanging out there!!! So he is happy, fed and warm too! So it is an all around happy ending for our four sweet little neighborhood cats and my heart is so super happy!!

Thanks to all of you that may not be cat people for bearing with this cat heavy post!!! Ha ha! I have lost so much sleep thinking about these little guys suffering so it is EVERYTHING to know they are safe and warm and fed!!!

AND - another cat note - my OWN cat Grace....you may remember a post I did explaining that my cat was hiding under the bed?? This has been happening since Thanksgiving! We ran tons of tests and checked everything and there was nothing physically wrong with her at all. So then the vet explained to me that she thinks the cat has Pandora's Syndrome. You can learn about it here.

Basically it is cat anxiety and fear from some external event that traumatized the cat. I had to use techniques and work with her to get her to come out and get more comfortable again. It has been months and finally...this happened last weekend...that is Grace on the left and her sister Faith on the right. I think Faith was amazed to see Grace on the bed so she went to join her!!! HA!

And then later she was half under the covers - HA! But she was out from under the bed and watching the birds!! YAY! SCORE!! She is still spending a lot of time under the bed but she is definitely getting more comfortable! I am so happy on so many levels!

So, that is my cat heavy update for this Monday and everyone is doing great and heading in the right direction! YIPPEE!

On a cleaning note...do you cover your house vents with filters?? I never did but I tried it a few months ago to see if it would help with my allergies. These have been on my vents for about 6 months and I just changed them out the other day! Look how horribly gross!!! After this I will definitely be using them and maybe changing them every 3 months! ICK! Who knew if could be that gross in those vents?!?!?

I hope everyone has a fantastic week! I am off to see what you all did this weekend!!!

Happy Monday and hugs to you all!

Do you have pets? Do you suffer when your kids or pets are sick? How was your weekend????

Quick Tuesday Check In

So last night after work was super crazy - although I have NO pictures to show for it! HA!

I am babysitting my neighbors cats while she is out of town so I went over last night to get the key and instructions for the week. They are super cute babies - I will have to get pictures to show you! She has four also! HA!

After  I did that; I had to run to the Goodwill store to buy a comforter for the barn cats. We had one that Gloria found but Margo said we need two so I grabbed one for $20 at Goodwill near my house. It will be well utilized no doubt! HA!

After I got home from there Gloria stopped over to drop off 42 POUNDS of cat food to give to the lady with the barn! Gloria is amazing and she has given so much for these sweet kitties - they will have plenty of food until they are situated and ready to catch mice! HA!

I had a sale in my Etsy shop for a lighthouse necklace so I also completed that last night and will be shipping it out today.

After all that was done I Facetimed my friend Mariela and her daughter Nena - she lives in San Diego. My sister in law was donating a bunch of clothes that my niece outgrew and I figured I could get them to Mariela for her daughter. We chatted and she selected what she wants me to send.  I will take the others to the children's re-sale store near work today. I am sending her a ton and there is still a huge garbage bag left to donate.

Then it was time for bed since I get up at 4AM for barre class now! HA HA!

I hope everyone has a great day and hugs to you all!!!

It's the Barn Life for Us - YAY

Happy Monday and happy, happy, happy cat update!!!!!! This is a very cat heavy post - the whole thing really - so if you don't like cats or feral cats you may want to skip to the end! HA HA!

On Thursday I worked with the Pittsburgh Homeless Cat and Pittsburgh Feral Cat Management Team worker Margo to catch our four kitties in the woods near my home. SHE IS AMAZING! She does this all over Pittsburgh to help save, heal and relocate (in some instances) ferals and injured ferals.

It went so smoothly it was truly AMAZING! She is going straight to Heaven for all she does for these animals!

So, she showed up and we set up three traps right in front of their house. She the amazing little house they made??? The food bowls are setting right out front of the front door. They also have a back exit for quick escape!!! I worried what would happen when they condo lawn people had to dump more crush there...they may be crushed!

So, like I said we took three traps and put a piece of cardboard on the bottom. We smeared it with tuna and then took a paper bowl and filled it with sardines in oil. Then we set the traps! The whole time it is raining so hard so I thought there was no way these cats woudl go in this tiny metal area to get the sardines...well, I was wrong!!!! Very wrong.  You can see the three traps in the photo below.

We walked away back to our cars for five minutes and by the time we walked back we had already caught two!! We caught the grey one and fluffy one first. Gloria calls them Buttons and Queenie.

 The traps close very slowly so they were both still eating as they had not realized they were even trapped yet! As soon as they saw us and realized they could not run away, they went NUTS!! It was super sad but we threw large sheets over the top of the traps and they immediately started calming down. We then took them to Margo's car so they were safe and warm in the back. She lines the back of her car with pee pads so they can pee in the trap and not have it everywhere!!!

We went back and set the fourth trap and walked up to my house to wait and have coffee. We waited 1/2 hour and went back down; we caught the third!! So we took him to Margo's car.

She had an appointment that day so she had to leave. I was asked to check the trap every half hour and just bring the trap with the cat into the condo when I got the fourth. Margo was coming by later that night to get the final cat.

Within the first 1/2 hour check - I walked down and we got the forth! We had not see it all day so I think it was out hunting and came home like "Hello...Hello...where did everyone go???" LOL! At least they got a great sardine meal!!!

So ...he he is in our condo hallway on cardboard and pee pads! HA!

I had to use my snuggie to cover the cage as I ran out of extra sheets! HA HA! It's okay - now that I am menopausal I don't need any more warmth!! HA! Here is a peek at the last holdout -Buttons!!! Gloria calls him Mr. Independent since he was always out and about when she would arrive everyday! Fitting since he was the last one we caught! He was not a happy camper when I peeked in...hissy little guy! HA HA!

So below is a close up of all the sweeties the morning before we caught them!!!! The fluffy one on the left is Queenie (She was the first to be caught in the traps and it turns out she is the only girl of the bunch!!!!).  Hunkered in the middle is Blacky (He is the third one caught and is confirmed to be a boy). The tuxedo cat on the far right is Buttons (He was the last one caught and is the one in the trap in the picture above. He is confirmed to be a boy).

Last, but definitely not least, is Boots (He was the second one caught and is a confirmed boy also!!!) This is the guy that loves Gloria and would run out when she came to feed them and let her pet him!!!

So, they were all caught and then taken to be spayed/neutered the next day by Margo. She said they all did great! Queenie was not pregnant (we were worried about that as she is really fluffy). They were all given meds for worms, rabies, etc and all checked out with clean bills of health! YAY! So while Margo worked on the plan to release back into the woods on Sunday - I began my pleading on Social Media for a barn that needed cats! I messages the lady that I got my barn kittens from and asked her if she needed them.She said she had a friend with a farm that was looking for barn cats to help out with their mice problem! YAY!!! I messaged her and she loved the idea of having them come live in her barn! YIPPEE!

So, we are all set! They have had a few days to hang out and recover a little and we will be taking them to the barn to get them all set up on Tuesday night! SO happy they get to live a fun and warm life at a large farm in Washington County!!! For the first few weeks they will live in cages so they get used to farm noises and understand that this is their home and then the farm owner will release them to live free in and around the barn! BIG Thank you to Shari for welcoming our babies into her farm!!!!

So that is the latest cat update! Also, I am so happy we got them on the rainy day we did because this happened the next morning...

I would have hated to know they were out in the freezing snow!!!

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers for the cat situation! No doubt it helped with finding the barn and the really record time trapping of the four sweeties!!! You guys rock!

 Check this out...a beautiful pair of cardinals that have been hanging out near the bird feeder on my porch!!! Sooo pretty!!!!

See them?!?! The Mom is on the branches right below the Dad!!!! Sooo pretty!!! The cats love watching them also! HA HA! To be honest, the bird feeder is really like cat entertainment at my home! LOL!

Onto the dog bite update...The hearing is Wednesday so I will let you know how that all goes. 

Thank you all for your undying support and kind words...I truly think it helped wit the super quick trapping and success of everything cat related! I do not know what I woudl do without the support I get from this blog!

I hope everyone has a fantastic week - hugs to you all!

How was your weekend? 

 

Just Another Wednesday

Happy Tuesday Wednesday everyone!!! Wow! It is hump day and I am calling it Tuesday! 

Can you tell I did not sleep at all last night??? It is going to be a long day!! UGH!

It is another lovely, dark day in the Burgh this morning and I am praying for sunshine! I think I may need to go tanning soon. UGH! 

I mentioned yesterday to someone that my cat is obsessed with the fish tank.This obsession comes and goes. It is really strange. For months he will ignore it and then all the sudden he will not leave it alone!! This was him after work last night! HA! He would not get off and leave the fish alone! HA!

"I know I can catch it!!!"

"Mom, what is the big deal if I want to sit on top of the tank????"

Carzy crazy cat! He did this a lot when he was little which is how he got the name Trouble but it comes and goes...very weird!!!

So we found this adorable colony of cats near our condo building and it looks like we are going to attempt and catch and neuter/spay if possible this Thursday. I am getting all the help from Pittsburgh Homeless Cat Management Team. I promise to document the whole thing. These little guys are girls are super cute and I can not wait to see them up close!  If the cats are friendly, I think the Pittsburgh Homeless Cat Management Team will try to find them indoor homes which I would love!! If they are not friendly then they will release them back to where we found them after the spay and neuters heal.  It kills me to think of anything suffering outside although they have done very well so far out there! We will find out soon!  

Lastly!!! I FINALLY have an update on the dog bite situation! 

As far as the county is concerned; the hearing is next week (the 12th) at the magistrate for the bite, my prescription cost which they refused to pay ($10) and the fact that the dog was not registered or up to date on shots. It will be a hefty fine for them I think.  

Also, as far as the condo board is concerned...The condo board sent them two letters requesting they re-home the dog since it bit a resident or they would be fined. They kept the dog anyway. Their fines are now up to $1500 and then next step was the condo boards lawyer sent them a letter to re-home the dog (by the 22nd of January) or we are filing in court. So we are filing in court. They actually called the lawyer on the 29th and said they re-homed the dog but the lawyer said it is too late. So off to another court date we go. The dog is definitely still there...some of my neighbors have seen it....so yet another lie. I just REALLY wish they would move but no chance! 

They will harass the building residents for years to come I am sure!! UGH!

But I promise to keep you all posted on that also!

Nothing super exciting here...just life with a few ups and downs...

I hope everyone has a great day - HUGS to you all!

Home Work

Today I am joining in with Tuesday 4 Meme...

Hosted by Ann! No, not me...a different Ann! HA!

Welcome to another Tuesday 4 invented by Toni Taddeo and kept in memory of her. Keeping a home is what this week's topic is all about.

If you want to join in...copy and answer the questions in a post of your own and jump over to Ann's blog and link up! Hope to see you there!!!

Here we go...

1. Are you an impulse buyer or do you weigh the value/cost/ necessity before you buy?

I never used to be an impulse buyer but Amazon has totally spoiled me! Since you can return anything you purchase there; I find myself buying daily! I need to get a check on this soon. I am not spending a lot but the free shipping and quick delivery reels me in! I get everything from batteries to piggy bank plugs there! HA! Amazon has everything - plus two day delivery and free shipping! WOW! Again, I don't spend a lot but I spend often! I love coming home to those smiling faces on my porch!!! HA HA!

2. What do you really resent having to pay for? 

I get frustrated every year when I pay to get my car inspected. I live in PA and we HAVE to have our cars inspected yearly. The rest of my family loves in Ohio and they do not. I hate paying it every year but I just keep telling myself "At least I know my car is safe for the road".  Also, Pennsylvania has a lot of taxes on gas. When I visit my family, their gas is always at least 50 cents cheaper per gallon. This frustrates me to no end!!! Oh well, I love my state and don't plan to move so it must not be that bad, right??





 3. Do you have favorite brands of household cleaners, detergents, soaps? Can you tell us why you like them? 

My sister and sister-in-law turned me onto Norwex. And no, I do not make any money when you click links on this page and no one I know sells this! HA HA!  I just love them! They are cleaning cloths that don't require any chemicals...just water! I love mine!  I save a lot of money not having to buy cleaning products although I do use Mr. Clean erasers for anything that is tough to remove! I swear those things clean ANYTHING!!!  

4. What is a typical day of housekeeping for you?
I love my Shark robot vacuum!!! I tell it to start vacuuming everyday when I get home from work. Well, actually, I tell Alexa to start it! HA HA!  I do most of my cleaning on weekends though. I vacuum and remove cat hair daily and everything else happens on the weekends. I use Norwex cloths for all my cleaning so I do not use any products except on the toilet. In my toilet I use those wands to clean it. You can read about Norwex here if you are interested. It works out well because I only have a two bedroom condo so cleaning is pretty quick and easy!!! Yay!

Now I am off to read about your cleaning habits!!!! Have a great Tuesday and thanks Ann for hosting!!!

HUGS to everyone!

Weekend Miscellaneous

Happy Monday everyone! The beginning of another week..yay! I am blessed to have woken up to 50 degrees in Pittsburgh! Kinda crazy but also kinda wonderful!!!!

This past weekend I had nothing planned and it was nice to chill at home most of the weekend. My Stelara shot came so I gave myself my medicine. For those that do not know; I have psoriatic arthritis. It causes my joints to ache a lot and without my meds, I am covered with scaly red patches all over my body. This medicine allows my skin to be clear so I no longer look like a leper...for real...the meds have saved my life! It is so tough going through life watching people cower away from you like you are contagious. Thank you big pharma for this win!

I got a little stir crazy over the weekend with no plans so I decided to make my own. So many of you commented on my beach posts and asked why I do not go to Lake Erie since I live in Pittsburgh. So, I thought, I don't know why but I thought it was time to check it out!

So I put it in Waze (I use Waze to get EVERYWHERE) and found out that it is over two hours from my home. So, off I went. I figured I could find lake glass since it was cold and there would be no one else there.


I arrived and made my way to the Presque Isle State Park. I found the first beach and parked. I started walking up and down....nothing except rocks and plastic trash. I used my plastic bag that I wad going to collect glass in to collect trash! It filled quickly...it was actually pretty sad...

I moved to another beach further down and the same thing happened. I guess it is true what they say about balloon releases being bad for the environment...I can not tell you how many of these old, popped Mylar balloons I picked up!

So, I walked all the beaches down the peninsula and did not find a single piece of lake glass but I collected a lot of trash. Maybe I did not go to the right place to find glass but it was definitely disappointing.  Very beautiful but apparently not an area where people appreciate nature...UGH to people!

Another shot of beautiful nature...

Twice over the weekend I was stuck in stopped traffic for accidents. The first day....police stopped traffic both directions on a major route because someone was texting and crashed into the car in front of them and the then someone rubbernecking that accident crashed into the car in front of them. We were stuck for about 30 minutes not moving AT ALL!!

Then the next day this happened...There was another accident and the police again stopped all traffic to clear it! I can not stress it enough...please don't text and drive! I see people doing it everywhere here and it is a disaster waiting to happen. I now zip my phone in my purse so I cant see it when I am driving. If i need to make a call I don't start the car until the call is on Bluetooth in the car. It is so senseless!!!

My neighbors have been feeding a colony of strays that live in the woods near our condo. They took me yesterday to see them...I am in love! There are four super cute kittens, probable about 6 months old. I contacted a friend that does catch, neuter and release and we are hoping to get them spayed and neutered so they don't create more. Maybe they can actually be homed - they are super cute!

Lastly, I got free play for the Meadows again this weekend. I was not going to go use it but my home group meeting was cancelled Friday night and I was super bored so I decided to try my will power. I promised myself that I would use the free play and then leave no matter how fast it was...I even left my wallet and debit card at home just to be sure! HA! Guess what happened....



In the end I won $376.19 with a $1.00 bet!!! Within five minutes of getting to the casino too. So that was it, I took the money and ran like all of you told me to do. The entertainment value was pretty low but I was super happy to leave with that money!!! I used up the last of the free play and cashed the money out!!! YAY!!!

Thanks for the recommendations! I felt good sticking to my guns and leaving up $350. I hope my luck holds out today - my barre studio had it's grand opening and I am hoping to win one of the giveaway baskets. I think they are picking tickets today - fingers crossed?!?!?!

I never planned on watching the Superbowl since my Steelers are not in it. I was, however, rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs to win! I worked in Kansas City for about three months last year and all the employees I worked with are super excited that the Chiefs made it to the end!!!  So I have to root for them also!!!  

 

 

As far as the game goes, I only watched the halftime show and I loved it! 

 Jlo is 50 and Shakira is 40...man they can shake for their age!!!! I was seriously impressed - plus I loved all the music! If I looked like them; I would let it all hang out! HA HA!

I hope everyone has a happy and LUCKY week!! HUGS!!!

 

Today I am joining in with The Flynnigans for ...

 

My monthly goals are very simple...

drink my water everyday
Exercise everyday (at least a walk if not doing Pure Barre)
Lose weight and build muscle!!!
I am very focused (for the first time in a long time) on my weight less goals and what is necessary to get me to the end!

Here is my mantra...everyday ….all day!!!!

 

Do you like Chinese auctions? How about bingo? I LOVE bingo and have not been in forever! How was your weekend? Did you watch the big game? If so, any good commercials?