Taking Down the Tree

Usually, taking down the tree makes me sad. But this year, I had LOTS of "help". At least Vixen didn't discover the art of Christmas Tree climbing until AFTER the holidays. But once she got the hang of it, she was unstoppable. She would bat off ornaments from the inside of the tree, and I would pick them up and put them away. Thank God for carpeting. Nothing got broken.
The lights? They weren't quite so random and scattered before Vixen got involved. My husband takes pride in his light stringing ability. I shudder to think what is going to happen next year when she will be big enough to break ornaments, and topple the tree.....What will I do? NOT putting up a tree is not an option.


But then, I look at this face, and I can't really care about the inconvenience of it all....Too Cute!!
Yeah, she has us all wrapped around her tiny little paw, and thats ok.



The spot that she is "nesting" in is about 3/4's of the way to the top. No bottom limb, stay safely near the floor antics for this little dare devil. No way.

Resolutions 2009

I'm sure we all made some resolutions. The new year is a perfect opportunity to start again with a clean slate. Some of mine are the same as always:

-Eat healthier
-Get to the gym more often

I would add weight loss, too, but as I get older I am much more concerned about health than vanity. Well, I still do have my vain moments, but not nearly as much as I used to. Its funny how that goes out the window as time marches on. But anyway....

The bulk of my resolutions have way more to do with my peace of mind and the quest for zen. Yeah, I'm still searching for that. And zen is still eluding me. Maybe true zen is as mythical as a unicorn. You think? I haven't made up my mind about that one. My peace of mind resolutions include:

-Saying NO more often ( Life is too short to waste time on all of this stuff that is unpleasant and soul-sucking).

-Working as little as possible, and playing as much as I can. Again....life is too short.

-More days spent wearing pajamas. Seriously. Any day that I can wear pajamas ALL day long without having to run errands, take care of business, go to work, or anything else that requires venturing outside the walls of my home is an excellent one. Those days are precious and few. There should be more of them. Of course that is in direct conflict with my heading to the gym more often, but there must be some way to compromise. Right...?

If I can accomplish these things, happiness will be mine. I'm sure of it. I don't have lofty goals of great accomplishments, exotic travel or extreme excitement. I would be perfectly content to just have a quiet peaceful year holed up someplace remote with my husband, and all of my animals. With my kids popping in occasionally.....of course. As long as they don't mind that I am wearing my pajamas while we visit. HAHA!

This....

This might be the cutest thing in the whole world. Just sayin'. She had her first vet appointment this week, and we found out 2 important things. First of all, she is, indeed a girl. Which is a good thing since I had already been thinking of her as a girl. And secondly, that she is healthy. We suspected as much given her healthy appetite and normal kitty behavior, but its good to get confirmation.

Anyway, our company is gone and now its time to start putting Christmas away. We had a nice holiday this year, but I am ready to put it to bed. Too much food, too much excitement, too much of everything. I am exhausted. I just want to get my house cleaned and I want to get back to a normal schedule again. But first, Vixen and I might take a nap. We deserve it.

Good Bye 2008

Sometimes, I look backwards with nostalgia, but never, ever with regret. All in all, it was a good year. Everybody in our little clan is healthy. We gained a wonderful daughter-in-law. And we also gained a multitude of pets. My new kitty is sitting here beside me as I write this post, and my goats are right out in the back yard playing some strange kind of goatie head-butting game. Also? I have the best husband in the world. We are both gainfully employed, the bills are paid, and we are safe, warm and happy. I have no complaints about 2008.

But....2009 is going to be even more fabulous. I just have that feeling. I get these hunches sometimes.

So, anyway, Greg, Lori and the girls are here to ring in the New Year. We are having a low-key celebration. I don't think we should drag the kids out bar hopping tonight...haha. I've got champagne chilling in the fridge and we will toast to the old year and for the new. Happy New Year to all of you. I hope you all have something wonderful just waiting around the corner for you in 2009.

The Zoo

Everything here at the ZOO is going well. Dad and Barb left to go home this morning. We have another round of family coming on Tuesday for New Years. Vixen the new kitty has made herself completely at home. She is an awesome cat, really. She house trained to the litter box in no time at all. And this tiny little kitten runs around with no fear at all of all the dogs. In fact, she curled up with Shep, our biggest dog, for a nap this afternoon. They were both completely at peace, just sleeping like babies. Dad and Barb kind of wanted to take her home with them. They have 2 cats already, so she would probably fit right in. But as much as I was afraid that a cat would disrupt the doggy scene around here, now I don't want to let her go. I love her early morning rampages. She wakes up feisty and ready to play. I didn't even mind that she took off all the lower tree ornaments, and ripped off all the bows on the presents. At least she didn't open any of them.

And there are the goats now. They seem to be settling in quite well, too. They follow me around the yard for attention, and that makes me happy. The dogs still aren't completely happy about having goats out in their space, but they have stopped the constant barking, so its going to eventually be ok. I am still stunned that my husband bought me goats. Shock and Awe is an apt description. Oh, I got some other cool stuff....a really beautiful pearl necklace. Its a classic, hand-tied strand, but the pearls are shades of rose, lavender, and white. Its beautiful and I got a matching bracelet with it, too. Also, a set of cookware. Ok, so for those of you who know me, and know my hatred of cooking.....shut up. Hahaha! I needed new pots and pans. I have never really spent much money on decent ones. So I have been researching so I could get exactly what I wanted. That turned out to be Infinite Circulon. It has a non-stick interior that is supposed to be one of the toughest, longest lasting ones on the market. Plus, it is the ONLY set that has been engineered to be able to go into the dishwasher. The dishwasher, people!!! That gift surprised me because even though I had told hubby that I really wanted this set, he vetoed it as being a completely unreasonable expense. Given how much I don't cook. It floored me to open this up on Christmas morning. Its all washed up and put away, ready to use....but we cooked so much stuff over Christmas that we haven't actually had any need to cook anything else since I got it. I'm sure I will get to use it this week though.

Anyway, its been a good year. I have complete faith that 2009 will be every bit as good, possibly even better. I hope the same for all of you. And if you want things to be completely awesome, I suggest getting a GOAT!!! LOL.

Merry Christmas to All....

Santa brought Vixen the kitten early. But he wasn't quite done yet. Yesterday afternoon he stopped by one more time and brought me these:


I have been teasing my husband for several years about wanting a goat. Now I have 2!!!!!
They are little pygmy goats, and they are full grown.....standing about knee high. They are the cutest things EVER! The black and white one is "Poe", and the dark gray one is "Chaucer".
Clearly these are very literary goats. And I am in love. With the goats, and with the husband who had the wacky sense of humor to go to all the trouble to buy goats. I love you, hubby.

Also? Hubby had to work this morning, and the goats needed hay. I had to drive the big skeery pick up truck downtown to a FEED store and buy bales of hay. This was completely, totally out of my element. But I did it. And the goats seem to be quite happy. I have a full fledged nativity scene going on here tonight.

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. We are having a blast around here.

Santa came a little early around here.....

Meet Vixen. She's adorable. My husband found her, abandoned, starving, and meowing at the top of her lungs. Who could turn down that sweet little face....? Ok, I KNOW I just wrote a post about how I did NOT want any more pets. But whats that old saying? Something along the lines that whenever we make a plan, God laughs a little. Or a lot. He's having himself quite a chuckle over this one, I'm sure.

So, we've been a dog family for a long time. We are not used to having cats. I had cats when I was growing up, but I've forgotten a whole lot of stuff. For instance, cats are impervious to the baby gates that we use as dog barriers. Nothing is sacred or off limits. Its definitely different, but we are adjusting. She is so cute. She's smart, too. Vixen has already figured out the litter box thing. That was my main concern, but she learns quickly. So far, she has charmed everybody who has come over. Its fun to have a playful little kitten, and even the dogs don't seem to mind. Of course, my dogs are so old and so inactive they view everything with bored indifference.

Merry Christmas to me. Vixen has found herself a home. She has moved right on in, and become quite comfy....and I am actually ok with that.