And that's all my phone has to say about that...

flash back to last Friday- make chocolate covered yumminess.

pretzels and peanut butter balls. high in both calories and deliciousness.

they were so yummy people who had said they weren't coming showed up upon being texted about the chocolate goodness.

 

the week started out terribly sunny.

Washington was actually like the warmest state in the USA at one point over the weekend. It was miraculous. 0% chance of rain- that just doesn't happen out here!

flowers picked on the hike mentioned in the previous post.

 

at first i thought I acquired poison ivy on the hike when I woke up with a rash on my arm the next day.

when within hours I was a completely rashy mess we began to think a food reaction was the culprit.
that and my husband suspected I was turning into a goose (...looked like I had goose bumps everywhere...). Yup.

 

 Next was a 101  fever.

long story short, I spent about 5 hours on Monday between the doctors, a blood lab and the army base pharmacy. i know I have a monosodium glutamate (MSG- a common food additive which acts as an excitotoxin and messes with my endocrine system) allergy and i accidentally ate some (its in the majority of packaged food). the dr. also did a panel of food allergy tests on me. waiting on results. i am now armed with epipens and after a bunch of steroids and Benadryl I'm doing much better. fun times.

 

we've started feeding birds in hopes of giving our indoor kitty something to entertain himself (and cause we like birds).so far, a couple of brave chickadees and a squirrel picking up what drops to the ground have been our only visitors.

 

trink thinks the squirrel is good fun. we call the squirrel Caliban

(also, like Trinkilo, a character from the Tempest).

Funny part is he didn't notice him at first and the squirrel stood frozen for a couple minutes before the cat whipped around and gave him full attention.

 

another really great cat hobby is running around underneath a shoe box. the goal being to keep it on top of you so you may stealth attack people's ankles.

 

gearing up for Hawaii in 10 days!!! so excited!

we will be staying at a military personnel resort right on Waikiki beach. Celebrating our one year anniversary during the trip. Unbelievable! Until then, we are watching every movie set in Hawaii- most importantly Lilo and Stitch. JoJo has 3 day weekend so let the amping up for the trip begin!



Cat Comics: "Please pet me so I may then bite you" addition

Cat logic cannot be argued with any more than it can actually be explained. Here is a display of "please pet my belly...oh this is so nice...nevermind... *bitebitebitekickkick*" cat logic as displayed by Trinkilo.

(to see better:)

And that is that, people.

Super Power: Praying Cats into Being...

Yes. A super power. Not many people can say that they have such a thing, but I think I do. I pray cats. I call them unto myself. My record is 2 for 2.

...Okay this is nonsense...It's not a super power. I think it is just the favor of God. But nonetheless, let me tell you about my history of praying for cats.

Back when I was a little girl I wanted a cat so badly. My parents said "no" for years. I would pray and pray and hope and hope, but no cats appeared. One night, when I was about seven or so, my parents and I were discussing cats on our back porch and finally said "okay, you know what, you can have a cat if God sends you one." Now, with their permission, I prayed even harder that night.

The very next day my mom and I were again on the porch. My mom answered a phone call: my dad. I could tell she was trying to be all hush hush or speak some secret parent code, but I was onto them. "ITS A CAT, ISN'T IT?!" I yelled.

Yes. It was a cat. A calico kitty about 3 years old. She had shown up at my fathers law office. She had jumped into his vehicle. She snuck herself into his office.

To summarize that story, that day I got my first cat because God sent her to me. We named her Csokolom (meaning: "kisses to you" in Hungarian). She was a fantastic cat and was so very tolerant of the loving "torture" I put her through (such as wearing hats and doll clothes or being worn around my neck like a scarf). I also had a rather bizarre made up language I spoke to her in. I was devastated when we had to put her down due to cancer several years later. I never thought I would love another animal as much as I loved that cat.

Now fast forward a couple years to JoJo's first deployment. He and I had always talked about having pet cats. I wanted a gray kitty named Trinculo, named for the comic relief character from Shakespeare's The Tempest. JoJo wanted an orange cat named after Milo from Milo&Otis, his favorite childhood movie. By the time we were into month 5 of the 6 month deployment both of us were miserable and there was little that we could discuss over skype which made us happy. Cats, however, were an exception. Whenever we were grouchy we would both google images of cats, watch cat youtube videos or look at ridiculous cat memes. Perhaps this is not a normal deployment strategy but...whatever. It worked. Towards the end of the deployment we also spent some time looking for images of the future kitten we were talking about getting once he got home. We would try to find kittens on google that just resembled what we would want. Somehow it was a good pass time.
These were my favorite dream kitten images:

 

I began praying that the two of us would be able to find the perfect kitten for us once we got to our new home in Washington.

Then, 2 days later ,in mid-November of last year my uncle sends me a text with this image (Mind you, I was in CT at this point and JoJo was in Qatar).

My uncle's family came home to find a cold and hungry Maine Coon kitten (who of course looked exactly what like what I had wanted) in their garage. The temperatures outside had been below freezing and he just wanted to get warm. My Aunt and Uncle weren't interested in another cat, but they thought I might be, knowing I am a softy for all critters. I tried to turn him down at first. I didn't think I could possibly manage to adopt a kitten, get it all its vaccines and whatnot, and get him on a plane to Washington in a span of 2 weeks. Plus, I thought my husband would think it was a crazy idea. But my uncle kept on texting me all day trying to guilt me into that kitten. I kept refusing to go see it because I knew I would wind up taking it home. When it came time to talk to my husband over skype that day I sent him the picture and explained the situation and was like "just going out on a limb here...any chance we should adopt this kitten despite all the craziness we'll have to do to get him to WA? He needs exams and shots and..."

His immediate response: "Bella, that kitten needs love. Go get him. Now."

 My husband is the coolest, by the way, and is just as much of a softy as I am. Immediately, I went to my uncles house and brought that baby home.

That 8 week old baby cat got lots of vaccines, a $150 plane ticket, a fancy $70 traveling bag, lots of treats and toys, and an 8 hour flight across the country to be able to come and live with us. He's a tough little bugger.

Having him made the last 2 weeks of the deployment so much more bearable; God's timing is so perfect like that. He knew we needed that little guy before getting to Washington. He kept me busy and it made my husband happy to be able to skype with a silly kitten. God knew he was perfect just for us.

JoJo and I adore that cat. More so than any pet either of us have ever had.

 

He is our Trinkilo (changed the spelling so it better matches with Milo) and he is so perfect for us. We have about 5 million nicknames for him- HiHi, MisserWhissar, Stinkilo, Weis , OwlEyes...and many more that also don't make sense! He is our furbaby. He has the most adorable personality. He is loving and sweet, but very rascally and ridiculous. He makes strange sounds- rarely meows but often "trills" and "chirps." He does weird things like attack the imperfections in the wall, bites eyebrows, attacks bear legs, and chews on just the ends of all our bananas.  He can jump 4 feet in the air and also specializes in catching popcorn between his front paws. He is the absolute perfect cat for us. He is now about 7 months and is 11 pounds and still growing! I really get a kick out of looking at the pictures and seeing how much he has grown!

 

Now, fair warning: I am praying for the seemingly magical appearance of our second cat, an orange kitty we can call Milo. Hopefully, updates on that to come soon! I apologize for the very long post; obviously, I am an unashamed cat lady!

And that's what my phone has to say about that...

My month according to my phone:

*nothin' ununsual here.*

*fox fetish*

*the sun came out! 2nd day of Spring!*

*baking breads*

*this is how the cat likes to sit and watch me study Astronomy*

*homemade fettuccine and orecchiette pasta*

*husband, cat and I playing cribbage*

*painting watercolor poppies*

*cutifying my pantry*

*spy eyes*

 

*As you can maybe tell, I am not an Instagramer. Main reason: I don't have a smart phone and I don't care too, really. I actually hate phones of all kinds. I occasionally take quick pictures on my phone, like these, usually for the purpose of texting a friend or family member. But for real photography I would much rather use my Canon D-SLR.

*as you can also tell, my life greatly revolves around my spoiled catson. Cat lady to the core, right here! Maybe I ought to take pictures of my husband...or things other than art projects, Trink and foods...hmmm....

Various Wedding Preparations and Purchases....

Our outdoor, garden/farm wedding is going to have a bit of a ...flowery...vintage....acclectic...theme with a color scheme of...spring.

Translation: I, bella, am making this all up as I go based on my own likes and preferences. Nothing will really match or look formal and a whole lot of it will be thrifted, DIY and random. I could try and create a color scheme and definite plan but...I'm wearing white, he is wearing Air Force Blues, and the Bridal party will be in orange. We will be outside with green grass and bright flowers. Why bother with a color scheme. The setting and scheme is just...bright...

I have been hopping around to various thrift stores and antique shops and collecting items and pairing them with craft store good and a lil' creativity. So far:

I designed and had professionally printed our wedding invites (and the printer, who had done business with my father before, gifted us the $300 worth of invites, envelopes and response cards for free as a wedding gift!). With the help of my some aunts, my mom, my future mother in law and some friends and sisters we got those a babies addressed and they are in the mail!

I created a wedding website for our wedding day and also as a means for people to RSVP. I did it through a great site called Wedding Wire (although after I had finished our site I realized there is a site which offers the same service but it is called Wedding JoJo. Needless to say I was disappointed in myself on that one!)

I have created 2 foot tall faux-metal letters (a J and B) out of cardboard and paint (to look like the $98 each zinc letters from Anthopology).

We've large collected large mason jars and ribbons to tie on them for our hand picked wildflower and fern table arrangements.

I've bought some random antique embroidered table clothes to use. I've also bought a couple cute special vases to to put on main tables and such. My favorite is a hand painted blue pitcher I got at an antique store for $10.

We've been collecting various crystal glasses and plates at thrift stores to create dessert stands like these for our cupcakes and canolli (instead of traditional wedding cake).

We bought this birdcage to use for collecting our wedding cards. As soon as it arrives I will be spray painting it some fun color.

A friend and I made 3 "fairy crowns" out of bark covered wire and orange, yellow and white for our 3 flower girls (2 of my sisters and one of his), similar to this one (but more little girlish!)

I am looking for doilies to make 2 ring bearer pillows like these, for my two ring bearing brothers.

I've been sorting through photos of JoJo and I to create a photo clothesline/time line, like these, of our lives and relationship to hang in the tents.

And I've been spending my little free time on wedding inspiration sites and blogs and emailing my mom things like this, this, this and this.

All of this on top of regular wedding shopping and appointments! The table in my room is so completely buried underneath all my projects and collected items, and the wedding is still 2 months away! EEK! But it will all be worth it when I marry my Airman at our lovely outdoor wedding! Stay tuned for more!

Yes, I still do hate Valentine's day, thanks for asking...

*VDAY LOVERS BEWARE. STOP READING NOW.*

Remember this post? About my holiday killjoy-ish and anti-valentine's-dayness? Last year? At a time that was prior (but only by a few days) to JoJo and I?

In case you were wondering, yes, I still do feel that way.

I had several interesting conversations over the last couple days involving my stance on Vday. APPARENTLY people seemed to think I never liked it because "I never had someone."

Let me just clarify that right now: *NO* Wrong. Inaccurate. Not correct. Uh-Uh.

#1- lets not pretend I was a hopeless single moping around, dreaming and hoping cupid would come along and shoot a prince charming in the backside with a love arrow so I would be lonely no more. No way, no how. I was single for 20 years and liked it that way, thankyouverymuch. No regrets whatsoever.
#2- no. I was not covering up some deep emotional longing by acting like I hated Valentine's day. I actually did.

I still do. A lot. Not just because I am a scrooge and a killjoy against holiday commercialization, but because I am very against the notion of having a designated holiday to celebrate being in love. I am against having a holiday that pretty much requires people to do loving things for each other. I am of the mind set that if I love someone (*and we all know who that is*) that I would tell that person daily. That I would act like I loved that person daily. That I would do things that expressed my love for that person daily. That there would be random "just because" type gifts and cute cards and whatnot not because the calendar told me to, but because those things were all GENUINE expressions of my love. I want to live love. Not pencil it in on my calendar when I can manage to find the time.

Basically, I am against the whole "acting upon being loving" thing on Valentines day in the same way that I am against "lets all suddenly be thankful on Thanksgiving day." I don't like a calendar telling me when I should express which emotions (and I don't like being told what to do, period. Have you notice?). Especially if those emotions tend to get seemingly neglected the rest of the time.

Yes. I am odd. Noted.

If you like chocolates and roses on Valentine's Day, then I hope your dearly beloved gets you some. Seriously. If that is how ya'll choose to celebrate the love that you have and you are happy with it that way, then by all means, have at those chocolates!

*side note: I am utterly baffled by all the "my wonderful boyfriend surprised me with chocolates and flowers! he is just the best!" statuses today. Uhm...did you not look at your calendar this morning? It's Valentines day. Not much of a surprise, if you ask me. Surprise means you *don't* know it's coming. Now my boyfriend, he knows a a thing or two about surprises, but that is another story...

But...I don't want that. (I think I am missing some sort of female gene? This is clearly not normal.) Roses, chocolates, and red and pink cards shaped like un-anatomically correct vital organs just on February 14th just aren't for me. Maybe I don't know what I am talking about, but I don't really see this opinion of mine ever changing. Not now, not ever. However, I am very much in love and I definitely don't see that changing. Ever.

I have always felt like this about Vday, but I think my relationship with JoJo has only made me dislike it more (ironic...?). If anything (out of the many things I have learned after *almost* a year of long-distancing it), this relationship has taught me never to take JoJo, or the time I do get to spend with him, for granted. I don't get to really pick when I see him. I don't see him on birthdays. Or holidays. Whether Hallmark says I have to or not. So I have come to a point of celebrating just *being* with him whenever I can. We make our own holidays.We specialize in "just because." And that is a concept I want to hold onto, beyond the point of there being distance between us.

But, even if we were together, we would not be celebrating Valentine's Day in any normal manner.

Oh, and by the way, guess what? No surprise, but my dearly beloved, who has thought processes as twisted as mine, feels the exact same way about commercialized holidays such as Valentine's day (and about being told what to do...). Perrrrfect.

Passionately Curious 4- Einstein on how to make a change, to solve problems and eliminate insanity.

...no subtitle...sorry...just not witty enough to produce something for this one. I try people, I really do...

 source 1, source 2.

"No problem can be solved 

from the same level of consciousness that created it."

-Albert Einstein 

Intellectuals solve problems, 

geniuses prevent them. 

"It is not that I am so smart, 
but that I stay with problems longer"

source 1, source2.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

I Heart Photojojo

No. Not photos of JoJo (though I do heart those). Photojojo. It is a real, live, camera geekery site with...camera geek things.I don't remember how I orginally found the site, but I got a kick out of the name, and somehow all the cuteness hooked me into receiving weekly emails from them. If I wasn't trying to be a frugal college student and like save for the future and yadahyadah (adulthood is overrated, I tell you whut) I would waste all my money on cameras, lenses, and basically anything camera related. Including geekery. I have posted on here before about their spectacularly awesome camera lens coffee mugs, but here's a couple other cute things off the site.

 Sterling Lens Cuff !

 USB Film Roll

 The Dreamy Diana Lens

Magnetic Polaroid Frames

 Photoshop Fridge Magnets

Although, *THIS* on the other hand baffles me. I found it and emailed my photography professor immediately to share my bewilderment.A mount for attaching D-SLR lenses to an Iphone? Really? Is this what photography is coming to? Oh, I sure hope not.

 The iPhone 4 SLR Mount