Monday, March 31, 2008

Stewart Star of the Rub-Al-Khali (aka Ruby)


A piece of my childhood died today.

Yeah, it was my precious cat. I've had her since I was 6. I mean she would have been 18 in a few weeks and that is extremely old for a kitty. And I knew when my mom took her to the vet this morning that that was probably what was going to happen. She was sick. She has been for a year. And the last few weeks, she has just really slowed down and obviously deteriorated. But yeah, sweet Ruby will be missed. I think even Ella senses that something sad is happening. Ella loved Ruby. Ruby despised Ella, but that did not stop Ella from constantly trying to gain the affections of this aging and crazy cat!

Anyways, I know it is kind of silly, but could you pray for my family in this? She has been a big part of our lives and so it is like saying good bye to a huge portion of our lives. My mom is especially sensitive to this kind of stuff so pray for her too because a lot of her life revolved around taking care of the cat and meeting the cat's needs. So yeah. I know people are dealing with bigger things than their cat dying, but many of you have been there - losing a pet hurts! My family has suffered this several times over the past 18 months with my first dog, Maya, dying 3 weeks after I got her (she was sick to begin with and I didn't know), Zeke, our 13 year old dog died last year of cancer and now Ruby. Kinda funny how the oldest pet lasted the longest!

Anyways, Ruby is in kitty heaven now (no, I'm not looking for a theological/philosophical debate on the existence of pet heaven). She will be missed!

In her honor, here's a list of things that we will miss about her:


  • The way she yelled/meowed at you when she was hungry

  • The way she whipped all the dogs in her life into shape into doing exactly what she wanted

  • The way she would jump on your lap the minute you sat down as if you were her personal pillow

  • The way she would jump around all the counters in our old house

  • The way she loved my dad's BBQ chicken - I kid not

  • The way she thought my Barbie Dreamhouse was her personal house

  • The way she cried/meowed in her crate on every single trip to the vet

  • The way she would eat Ella's dog food

  • And many many more that I just can't think of right now - I mean really, how do you sum up 18 years?!?!

Coming up next is the promised Boston post! I've already started it but have yet to finish it or upload my pictures. Get excited!

*And yes, the title in my post is her full name. My brother and I were 3 and 6. My parents were trying to appease us. I wanted to name the cat Star really badly so they put it in there. She was the Stewart's cat so obviously. And the Rub-Al-Khali is a desert in Saudi Arabia that has reddish sand - Ruby's fur was kind of a similar color to it. So yeah there's the explanation in case you were wondering.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Thriller...

Since I didn't watch the commercials doing Superbowl this year, I stumbled upon this beauty just last night. Because I have a fairly strong affinity for Michael Jackson music (notice I say "music", not an affinity for the actual person...oi vey!), you will understand why I like this commercial so much!! Just click HERE to see it on YouTube :0)


Coming up next is a post about my FABULOUS trip to Beantown!

*If anyone knows how to post videos from YouTube on here, please share with me how! I know Ashley and Chelsea do so tell me how! Thanks guys!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Post #100!!! (and Rascal Flatts!!!!)

It is my 100th post!! How exciting is that!?!?! Break out the champagne and the "100" sunglasses (the kind they wear to celebrate the 100th day of school!). That's all...hahaha


Now that that excitement is finished, let's move on to the real excitement - RASCAL FLATTS CONCERT!!! Can we say AMAZING!?!?! I'll give you the run down of what we did and then post some pictures of all the fun.

When we got there, we decided to eat first. A bunch of good restaurants set up booths there and we decided on Pappasito's. I know it isn't BBQ, but my taco was good so whatever. Then we walked up 5 levels of Reliant Arena (hey, I'm not complaining - those tickets were free!) and found our seats. For the next 2 hours, we watched all the rodeo events. Very cool. It got a little old after 2 hours of it, but it was still interesting (and there were some rather attractive cowboys...). Then, they had a calf scramble where high school students chase calves that have been let loose and get like money or a scholarship or something for catching the calves. Talk about a rough game! Those calves stomped all over those poor kids. Not a sport I'm wanting to get into any time soon. Finally, the stage came out and started rotating and the sweet music of Rascal Flatt's filled my ears :0) Since I know many of their songs and so does Jenny, we sang along. So great. I even got some illegal videos (they said no videotaping but my camera has a video function so I got a few clips of some my favorite songs - shhhh, don't tell!). However, I'm somewhat technologically impaired and cannot figure out how to post videos on here so I can't share those with you. Pictures will have to suffice...


Jenny & me excited for Rascal Flatts!

Calf Scramble!!!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Excitement!

I am so excited about several things this week and the weeks to come that I feel like I'm going to burst! Since I am home alone this week (the rest of the fam is in New Orleans enjoying free food and fun on my dad's company's tab - they are at a conference) I decided my blog would be the best choice for an outlet for some of my excitement. So here are the exciting things!

Job Interview!
Tomorrow morning, I will have my first interview for a teaching position with Katy ISD. It is just really a screening interview, but it's a start! Plus, Katy is a great school district and is supposed to have a fantastic special ed program (people relocate there just so their kids can participate in their programs), so if I could get a job there, that would be fabulous! I've had positive interactions with the district so far, so hopefully this will be another positive interaction.

Rodeo!
So, I've never really been to the Houston Rodeo before (sad, I know, since I have lived here for 8.5 years and all). I have been to the BBQ cookoff briefly but we didn't really do anything but that - like concert-wise and stuff. Well, that is all changing tomorrow evening! Jenny called me this morning and said she had two free tickets to get this, THE RASCAL FLATTS CONCERT!! Not only am I excited about the rodeo, but I also get to see one of my favorites in concert! And for free!! I about peed my pants I was so excited when she asked me (FYI - I didn't really pee on myself - that would have been funny though). Anyways, I'll post pictures from the event! Be jealous!

Paul's Engagement!
Well, this actually happened last week, but still! My good friend Paul (yes, Tall Paul) proposed to his sweet girlfriend on Friday night! I couldn't be more excited for him. I have known him since our senior year in high school and it has been amazing to watch what God has done in his life in the past few years and I am so excited to see where God is taking him as he steps into this next phase of his life. Truly amazing! I haven't met his fiancee yet, but I am sure she is just precious and I am soooo excited for them two!

Boston!
We are now down to 8 days until I get to see Jeremy and Chelsea in Boston! Two months ago when I bought my plane tickets I thought this day would never come but now it is here and I just cannot wait! And she is already being a wonderful tour guide to me by telling me fun things we can do. So far we've talked about the Freedom Trail (a three mile walk around Boston to see all the historical things there), Fenway Park (how could you go to Boston and not see this, really?), outdoor ice skating, and many other fun things. It is going to be so great not just to see those cool things but to spend time with some of my favorite people in the world! Again, pictures will be posted of this exciting thing!


Okay, so that's what I've got for now! Hope exciting things are happening to you! God bless!

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Beautiful

Oh Lord, You are beautiful
Your face is all I see
And when Your eyes are on this child
Your grace abounds to me