As time goes by

I have taken my sister to the airport again today.  I hate that.  You would think that after 5 years away it would get easier...but no, that is not the case.  Even though I know that I will see her again in a few short months, its still not the same as being able to drive down the street and stop in to say hi.  Maybe one of these days I will explore the job offerings at Boeing in Virginia.  When I decide that I don't need to live in fear of bursting into flames while my hair is growing larger by the day because of the humidity...lol.

The job is good, I love this group in Boeing and my bosses make me happy every day that they are part of my life.  They are kind and decent guys who totally have my back. I think I will be hard pressed to work for a woman again...hahaha.  It's just not the same.  

The house is full - sometime with love and laughter, sometimes with anger and hateful words.  We move on daily because that's what we do.  We talk, we apologize and we realize that, in the end, we love each other and want the best for each other.  We will take the overcrowding, we will hold each other accountable for dumb choices and celebrate the small achievements and the large ones. 

Whit has just started Western for her bachelor's degree...six quarters and she is done.  The choices that are there waiting for a career will be interesting.  Peach just had a conversation with UW about applying when her last few classes are done for her AA at Seattle Central.  Sustainability in business is an exciting career choice.  I like the fact that they are both focused on careers that involve enriching the community or the world, it isn't just about making a buck.

Life after divorce is good, I am almost 2 full years out from "the event" that started the ball rolling. Time flies when you are having fun?  Hm...fun is not maybe the word I would use, but time flies regardless.  There has been a lot learned, I will say that much.  And honestly...was he always that stupid and I just never notice?  Really?  Cause that's ALL I can notice now...lol.  Oh well.

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craziness

Well needless to say, the last few months have been nothing short of crazy for me.

I left Whole Foods and I'm working at Nordstrom in Bellevue now! It's a great step in the right direction, but I've never worked so hard in my life. And so much of it is just so vain. I'm having a hard time figuring out my place there. I'm currently in B.P. which is apparently the most difficult department in the company. I'm going to tough it out til August and then switch departments or try to get in touch with a company like Toms or Krochet Kids Intl.... companies that do good instead of just selling over priced shoes to over the top egos.

School is kicking my ass. I'm finally taking the summer off (I've been going for 6 quarters straight now) and I need it. I'm struggling because work is so stressful and takes up my entire life. Once fall quarter starts again I have to actually start my transfer stuff to go to SPU in the spring. I might take a quarter or two off to try and get some internship experience too.

Other than that, nothings new. Work and school pretty much consume my life. It's sad really. But I thought I'd give a little update even though I'm not sure if anyone uses this anymore...

Better late than never....

I keep thinking...oh, I need to do a post. Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and before you know it, you are trying to figure out where the entire year went!

The summer was incredibly hectic. Between May and October, we have fostered 27 kittens! Some of them come to us very healthy...some not so much. 25 of them were healthy enough to survive and went on to be adopted into great homes. Unfortunately, not all of them make it - which is very tough on us. About 14 of them came to us extremely feral, completely hissy and biting...they require a lot of extra time and affection. We work very hard for that first purr!! We know once we get that first purr, its game over - we win...lol. Now its only a matter of time.

Every so often you get a kitten coming through that you completely bond with. I can say that out of the 79 kittens we have fostered in the past 2.5 years that there are 6 that I have absolutely bawled like a baby when they left....well...5...Lola didn't go anywhere! ;-) She is still hanging out causing problems and pissing off Peaches' cat Izzy on a daily basis...lol.

We had two little babies for 8 weeks, we got them when they were only 3 weeks old....Felix and Fiona, everyone gets a name! Felix is one of the 6, what a wonderful little guy. Thankfully my husband is able to keep a level head and tell me no, otherwise, I could easily end up the crazy cat lady.

Someone called us about a stray cat they found, so I guess we are getting #80 tomorrow! The vet techs at our vet's office do the medical work and pay for the meds out of our Angel Fund up there that we do fund raisers to support homeless animals (Dr Gowen gives them 50% off all services/costs). Mikey and I feed them and pay to have every single one of them fixed before they go to their new homes. Zero Population Growth!! Kitties get adopted out for $50 dollars, which goes back into the Angel Fund for the next animal.

It's amazing to me the network of people in this are that work with population control for cats. We work with NOAH for getting them fixed and we want so start volunteering for the the Feral Cat Project. In the last decade, these two groups alone have spayed/neutered 80,000 cats. This doesn't count any other groups or vets, so the problem is huge....but comes down a tiny bit every year. We will keep doing our little piece for as long as its needed, its without a doubt my favorite way to volunteer!

Let me know if you know anyone who needs a kitten!

Purrs and warm sunspots to all!
Frankie

Missing my boys

1. My son is gone and his situation is not working as he had hoped. He is trying to make this work for Madison.  I've never seen him so miserable. 
2. My husband is living in terrible conditions. Sleeping on a top bunk in a tent with 20 men and sometimes doesn't even have water for a shower.  He works 12+hours/day, 7 days/week.  
3. I still struggle with the loss of my dog... every single day.

I do NOT struggle with living alone. My husband likes to brag that he continues to make me self sufficient.  I struggle with the death of my best friend and the fact that my other boys are living in such miserable conditions. I can't help Spenser or Roger and I can't bring Ripley back. I have none of them to distract me from the loss of any of them.

Here I sit in this big house.  From the outside I look like I'm living the American Dream, but I've lost both my mamma's boys and my husband lives in a war zone.

I'm very thankful for what I have, and have little reason to complain. I just deal better with distraction... and really how many gallons of canned foods can I really eat?

Proud Mama

Well, it is official, the first Snell of the next generation has started school! He was so excited for today and I was so nervous (yep, even shed a few tears)...never thought I would be like that. My biggest problem was the riding the bus part. I was just so scared that he would not make it, or get off to early or something like that. My mother felt the need to remind me that children have been riding buses for years and they have this down, and to that I answered "Ya, well not with my baby they haven't!" LOL

All styled up and ready to go!

The Star Wars back pack I had to search to find

Standin outside his school

Hangin his bag in his locker!

Gettin off the bus for the first time!

Anyways, he did great, loved it all and got home safe. He even came home and told me that some kids were not very good and they did not listen as well as he did LOL........I cant believe this day got here so quickly and my baby is no longer a baby...

No one uses this anymore???

WELL... here's what been going on with me!

I got a new job with Whole Foods at the coffee bar and specialty dept. It's awesome and much less stressful than Tullys, and I work with awesome people. The discount is nice too :)

School is going good. Start my first full time quarter in a few weeks. Visited Seattle Pacific University last week. Trying my best to transfer there next fall to double major in Fashion Design and Merchandising. Theyre the only school in the area that offers a Bachelors program for it, let alone a double major! If i can keep my head on straight i'd like to minor in Exercise Science, but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself just yet. AND they have awesome study abroad programs. Super excited.

Things are awesome at home, getting stuff paid off like I wanted to, I'm about halfway there! I'm lucky to have and awesome family that I actually get along with now.

Let's see, this year I went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, that was, interesting. Then I got to go to Kona in May. SO awesome. My trip to DC in June was great. I forgot how much I love Aunt Bob and Spencer. LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU! Had an AMAZING TIME. Just got back from Spokane to see everyone there. Gave up my favorite couches to my sister, it was a little heartbreaking, but theyre being put to much better use there!

I'm thinking about doing this race called the Warrior Dash in a few weeks, but everyone seems to be bailing on me. I'm running my first 10k the end of the month! Then the half marathon in Nov. Finally battled off my shin splint for the most part and found an awesome running partner! Im trying to get healthy, cause we all know that hitting the bars and fast food spots all the time wasnt doing me any favors! Ps. David is OUT! Has been since March, and I must say, Im a much happier (and healthier) person because of it :)

So thats pretty much my life. Work, school, and running.

Whats new with everyone else???

Trip to Seattle

Cam's head in a brownie mixing bowl :) He helped Gretchen LOL

We got to head over to Seattle for Memorial weekend and it was great to get to see people! We had a ton of fun. We went to the zoo, played tons of Rock Band (well James, Dad and David did anyways, us girls watched like they were nutso), got to see some friends and just relax with Mom, Dad, Peach and David. It rained pretty much the whole weekend, but we didn't let it stop us from being at the zoo for 5 hours or enjoying our trip. Hopefully next time we go back there can be some sunshine though, I want to take the boys to the beach and to Fort Casey!



In other news, I am taking my finals this weekend and I am done till Fall!!! Yea! AND James got a job!!! It is only 20 hours until July, but then it goes full time! We are VERY thankful and know that God has brought this too us just in time for summer. Him getting a job means we get Jon up here for the summer! James' sister is going to fly up with him a visit for a week before she goes home, and we get Jon for 2 months! It will be a long, adventure filled 2 months with 3 boys here, but it will be great for James to see Jon, we have not seen him since we left Tulsa in September.

Elmo's Last Stand

As you all know, my fabulous boy Elmo has been suffering for 4 years now with Feline Lymphocytic Plasmacytic Stomatitis...Stomatitis for short. Its an autoimmune disorder where he is basically allergy to the bacteria on his teeth and in his mouth. Its incurable and kind of like Lupus in humans. Frustrating, painful and chronic - with no successful cures/treatments so far. Sometimes, a full mouth extraction will cure the issue, sometimes not.

We found a vet last summer that has been the first person ever able to put this into remission. We flew to Dallas last summer with him and started their protocol, which was undergoing clinical trials. Unfortunately, my boy has one of the worst cases they have ever seen and he is a fighter when it comes to meds. After being unable to treat him at home, we flew him back to Dallas where he spent an entire month with their team. The staff at this small veterinary office have become like family to us. Trying different combinations of compounding the proprietary blend of pharmaceuticals they have found that work. Different bases, different flavors, powdered...you name it.

After 10 months, we still can't find a way to get the meds in him and keep them in him, he is too stubborn for his own good. His mouth has gotten worse, which makes dosing him even harder as he is in chronic pain. I had a very tearful conversation with my sister a few days ago as I was seriously considering putting him down. I don't ever want to be one of those owners that doesn't do the best thing for their animal, no matter how hard it is for them.

A few hours later, I get a callback from Jim, the chief surgical tech and creator of the new protocol in TX. Here is how awesome the people I have in my life area and how totally blessed I am. After crying through a description of how my boy is doing, Jim says - death is not an option for him. If he ever gets to be too much to handle emotionally, you send him to me and he will live here and we will take care of him. If you want to send him now, we will put him back in bootcamp (he doesn't fight Jim as hard cause he knows its a losing game) for a few months and I will blend some new concentrated formulas. It also might be time to look at doing extractions also.

Long story short, we met with a local dental specialist tonight and Elmo has an appt on Wed for a full mouth extraction and a feeding tube for a few months to get his weight back up and him transferred over to canned cat food. He is a kibble junkie, but it turns out kibble is horrible for cats...and really hard on a cat with a sore mouth. He is down from 12 lbs to 8 and is too skinny. A tube will allow us to dose his meds, give him high calorie canned food and vitamins with no trauma to the mouth and no one chasing him down 2x a day. Good for his mouth, good for his psyche. Not good for my checking account as he now goes from a 7k cat to a 9k cat - but he is my son, and he is only 5.

Wish us luck, as this is really and truly our last Hail Mary play...and I love him far too much to see him go yet. And Sissy...thank you so much for the moral support the other day - it was a very bad day and you made it so much better.

Snell Canoe War

Erika and I were paddling trying to find water in an old Indian canoe...

It's all fun and games until someone stands up in the canoe!

Then the war was on.

Harley training

I've been out on my bike a few times now.

I'm happy to report its going better.  Not so close to a panic attack, I even put on about 30 miles and got it up to 55 last weekend.

This bike is much bigger than it looks with my ass on it - it weighs 780 pounds.

Erika had been riding with Roger so I decided to let her try it out.  I had just had her in the parking lot with the Z talking about how to use a clutch - so I thought we had a shot.

It ended badly.  She will go down as the first to lay the bike down, but we had her in the grass and she didn't hurt anything.  She only got about 10 feet.  It's not so easy for us remedial students.

Maui baby!!

Mikey and I took some desperately needed time away and headed down to Maui for a week of R&R. We took our traveling buddies Clarence & Lynn with us as we prefer to travel with live entertainment whenever possible! The weather was in the 80's all week, but winter brings more severe tradewinds and winds got up to a pretty steady 50 MPH. This made for extremely choppy waters and forced the canceling of the side trip to snorkel the Molokini crater. The water was bad enough that almost 1/4 of the people on our catamaran were seasick, which was the most they had ever seen. We saw tons of humpback whales, even saw a mom and her calf with an escort pod! There was a lot of breaching and tons of blowholes and a pack of spinner dolphins with them, which the whale foundation had never seen them together like that.

More posts and pics later!!

Unsuccessful lick

This is what happens when you can't reach them anymore!

Main Photo Jan 10 - Mar 28

Request granted

As requested, I have returned all comments but the last two.

Comments please

Ok, I would like comments back now (just delete the ones we don't want), because I want to know if that things actually tasted like pasta? I mean come on! I have heard a lot of people say is it good though, that they use it in lasagna and such...and how did you cook the thing? I think I might give it a try...maybe.... :)

On another note, I am forehead deep in homework and final prep, but will be able to relax when Friday is over. I took one final yesterday and got a 96% on it! Whoo Hoo! I am turning in a final paper tonight, and I take another final tomorrow. Then, my last final, which is actually 4 small, easy to write papers, is due next Wednesday. The last few days have been busy for me with catch up homework, finishing the paper and doing what ever extra credit I can. I will be glad for a week and a half break before next quarter starts up.

The boys are great...most of the time LOL. They have their moments when I want to injure them and Cam is getting quite the little attitude on him, and I am not sure where he gets that at all ;). Mason is in Tae-Kwon-Do and loving it! He is also doing well in school, although we are going to have to pay attention to him through the summer because he is showing a few signs that may be worrisome for possible dyslexia, such as writing his name backwards and the inability to recognize most letters still. We are not to concerned yet, as most diagnosis are not even contemplated till 5 1/2 or 6, so they said to work with him over the summer and see how he does at the start of Kindergarten...which I registered him for last week! I cannot believe how fast he has grown!

James is still job hunting, but with my school money and unemployment we are making it through fine, but a job would be nice, even though it is fun having him home because we get a lot of time to do things as a family. We have kept ourselves pretty busy in this beautiful weather by playing outside a lot and visiting our local parks. Well, I think that is it from this side of Washington for now. Hope everyone is well!

Faux Pasta

My nutritionist insisted that I try this spaghetti squash in place of real pasta.

As I look at her I say “You want me to use squash instead of noodles!?” “You must be kidding”.

So – I tried it. I stomped around like a two year old shaking my head. I did not want to like this, and I couldn’t even imagine why someone would even suggest this crap to me.

So you cook this damn mellon like thing, and then pull out the "noodles".

Even with all my doubt and foot stomping … I liked it. It was actually really good.

My OCD 5year old

Well, I think I found something for Mason to do that is really going to work for him! I found a community Tae-Kwon-Do class, that is only 2-cans a month (cost) to take him to and it is twice a week. I took him last night, and although he was hesitant to start, because it was a very large group, he did great! Once he got into it, and they started the punches and kicks he was awesome. He just picked a bigger kid to watch and copied everything they did. He may not have been doing everything right, but he was trying hard, and having a blast. I was so proud of him, he kept looking at me a grinning, and he cannot wait to go back! I think the fact that it is so structured, repetitive, and is done a certain way, has him thriving, because as crazy as he is, he has A LOT of OCD tendencies (thank you mom for that, because I am actually sure that is where he and I both get it from) LOL.

also...

as for the yard nick and i do know a lot about Yard work as we told bob in the beginning and yes we did not rake but we did mow all year long. nick and i aren't used to raking but to say it is a half assed job is absurd i spent all day raking up in the rain trying not to tear up the grass. sorry if we did not keep the yard up to your standards.

ok...so first let me clear up the reason my dad (wrongly) called you up and yelled. he shouldn't have and i was not happy he did that. you may not have realized it, but you and mikey were continously saying "you need to figure out if you still want to live there" over and over. and in a tone that was demeaning. i'm sure it was not intentional, but it was quite upsetting and we felt pressured to leaving after we had just moved in.
as for the issues we were supposed to address when we moved in. it was all paint - that nick took care of to the best of his advantage. we kept getting the wrong paint, or couldn't find the paint, etc. he took care of all of that. he even got aunt bob a deal on the kitchen/living room/dinning room area (although it took longer than we anticipated) we did maintain that house to the best of our knowledge. i would like to know what we didn't fix? nick put up wallpaper boarders, replaced a knob in the bathroom...what else did we have on our list?
as for the dogs...aunt bob knew when we first moved in that we had two dogs. we had not kennelled them in a long time. creo hasn't been kenneled since she was a puppy and rocco hadn't been kenneled for almost a year. we have that big kennel, but it hasn't been used in ages. we did not know when we moved in the dogs would have to be kenneled or something to that extent. or else we wouldn't have moved in. plain and simple. i dont' recall anyone offering to buy something for the garage, but i do remember that being a suggestion. it's cold in there and my dogs are little. it made me nervous.
i think we all agree that nick should have done the trim a long time ago. he does too. however he never lied to aunt bob and told her that it was done. before those real estate agents came over he had told her it would be done the week after. now i guess she heard him wrong, but i was there when he told her.
as for the moving out date...i was emailing aunt bob telling her when we were moving out that things were not compeletely done. that's the second time i've heard this comment and am very confused. we were emailing back and forth and i told her i would TRY to get the cleaning done. but i also said that if it wasn't done then, we would do it next weekend.
so let me try to clear up what happened with the cleaning...first of all aunt bob i did not hang up. nick's phone cut out. however, i was close to hanging up because we called and were immediately being yelled at and some of it didn't even make sense. saying that we had told her that when we moved out we the house was ready...never happened.
so my dad came over to help move and decided the paint was not ready. he wanted to help nick fix it and they started the next day, thinking it would be a couple of hours and that's it. when they realized it wasn't, they called aunt bob who said fix what you started and leave it. so nick spent the next week going over after work trying to fix it. by the time the weekend came we had a small window of time to clean carpet, not clean. we had had every intention of cleaing that house. my mom, nick, and myself were prepared to do just that. now i did say the fridge was cleaned out, because i thought you meant food items. that is correct.
if anyone had asked us to get back over there and clean it, we would have. i dont' think a phone call saying we were taking advantage of someone was warranted. honestly nick and i wrongly misinterepreted the whole "cleaning lady" thing.
and now the trim...yes nick gave aunt bob a deal on installing it and materials. and he offered to try to paint it. and it took him a while to get around to it. but once he realized it wasn't going to look good (about TWO MONTHS) before we moved out he told aunt bob he didnt' like it and wanted to get a professional in to do it. she didnt' want to. she said "do the best you can" and guess what? he did! he at one point even offered to pay a painter to do it - out of our deposit. so the week before we moved out we were working on the trim day and night. and my dad tried to help but he told aunt bob it could use more time. no one can say that we didn't warn anyone about the trim. and nick said from day one he is not a painter.