Look at this handsome, sweet boy.

Look at this handsome, sweet boy. I just love our Cub. ❤️

It's the 100th Anniversary of the Burning of Zozobra...

It's the 100th Anniversary of the Burning of Zozobra, a New Mexican tradition. We're watching on TV, but we'll go one of these days.

https://burnzozobra.com/

He just rolled off the couch...

He just rolled off the couch and won't look at us. Why do I feel like he's embarrassed THIS TIME? 😂😂😂

Today is/was Shaun's birthday...

Today is/was Shaun's birthday, depending on your time zone. I think he had a pretty good day.

He ordered some fancy pocket knives that I confiscated and wouldn't let him open until today. 😂 They are quite nice and he seems happy with them. He played games and he napped. We had family dinner at Outback where we all got into watching the dog show. Kira made him a tasty, no-bake cheesecake.

It was a chill birthday. Happy 42nd to my love, and I'm looking forward to many more with you. ❤️

So this is Houdini...

So this is Houdini (and my handsome Shaun). He (Houdini) pooped in his temporary house, so we figured it was a good time to get him out and feed him. We wanted to get him on a schedule to eat at the first of the month, so we're working our way there. But the timing worked out this time because the accessories for his permanent enclosure will be here early next week, so he will have digested enough by then to be moved from his temporary home without a tummy upset.

We're excited to get his permanent house set up. We've both done a lot of research and hope he likes it a lot. We'll post pics as soon as it's ready.

We haven't handled him a super lot, but he seems fine when we do. We're going to work on spending more time with him, but we wait until Bear is in bed and usually Shaun is crashing out by then. 😂 So our timing isn't great. But we'll figure it out.

Anyway, he's about 10 years old and around 6 feet long. He's a boa with a handsome mustache and freckles on his belly. He's a curious and social guy and we're excited to have him here. ❤️

Me and Shaun are watching Dexter....

This boy is not super flexible...

This boy is not super flexible and sometimes needs help scratching his back end. As you can see, when he tries to reach his rear he usually just rolls. 😂 Poor thing. His life is so hard.

Pardon the stuff piled everywhere. We moved everything from one side of the room to the other when we were shampooing the carpet.

I'm really tired of waking up at 3-5 in the morning...

I'm really tired of waking up at 3-5 in the morning. I'm still sleepy, it's not time to work, and I don't know what to do with myself. Melatonin doesn't help.

This is why we call him Harley Longlegs...

This is why we call him Harley Longlegs. He's a lanky cat as it is, but he's not afraid to show it off.

I love watching him run.

I love watching him run. He looks so happy and free. Knee surgery and that rough recovery were definitely worth it. ❤️❤️❤️

Where do you store your cats? 😂

Where do you store your cats? 😂

He just woke up from a nap.

He just woke up from a nap. He's got his mischief recharged. 😂

I woke up early...

He's eaten some wet food, but he still ain't straight. 😂

He's eaten some wet food, but he still ain't straight. 😂

The vet was going to pull 2 upper teeth. One just fell out while she was doing the cleaning. She pulled the other one. On the bottom, he had a broken molar with a piece still hanging on (she removed that whole tooth), and also one that's resorbing that she got mostly out. She said it was crumbling and she didn't want to cause more trauma in the area. She wants to check that one again in 6 months - a year.

This poor boy. That was more than we expected, but hopefully he'll be feeling better once he's done feeling GREAT. 😂

These sweet boys. ❤️❤️❤️

These sweet boys. ❤️❤️❤️

Why are they so cute!?

Peep the crumpled lip on Bear. 😂😂😂

I've probably kissed these dogs 1000 times today. Just like every other day. 😂💗

Oh my gosh. He's so drunk. 😂

Oh my gosh. He's so drunk. 😂

Making baked tofu and rice for lunch...

Making baked tofu and rice for lunch. I lost my impulse control and ate some tofu after I flavored it, but before I baked it. 😂 It was pretty good.

Googled afterwards and that's fine. I'll live to act like Bear another day. 😂😂😂

The vet just called.

The vet just called. Harley made it through surgery and we can pick him up in about an hour.

We knew of 2 teeth he needed removed, but she said he only has a few left. She wants to show us his x-rays. Sounds like she found something we couldn't see from the outside.

On the bright side, she said he should have a much more comfortable mouth.

Yesterday we clipped 2 ingrown claws out of Scar...

Yesterday we clipped 2 ingrown claws out of Scar and watched YouTube. Shaun put on a channel called JetPens and it had some really neat writing utensils and other office/school supplies. Then we saw a channel called Midwest Magic Cleaning. He goes around and helps neurodivergent people get organized in their homes. He does it for free. All he wants is a million subscribers so he can get a YouTube plaque. Seems like a decent guy. I subscribed. I hope he gets his plaque. He's a bit over halfway there.

Then we watched the movie Hitman. It was ok.

Today, though... today Shaun and I whipped this house mostly back into shape. I say "mostly" because I ran the battery out of the hand-held carpet cleaner that I was using to get up the stains that the carpet shampooer didn't get. I did finish shampooing the carpet and I'm thrilled about it. But after the hand-held charges up I have a few more stains to tackle.

Shaun scrubbed the kitchen counters, oven, and sink, as well as mopped and did some other miscellaneous chores.

We are super tired, but downstairs definitely needed this. It's BEEN needing it, but it was pretty pointless until Cubba's wounds closed up. Thankfully (for all of us) his wounds are closed, he's free of the cone, and he's able to play. This is much better.

I have some things I'd like to finish up this week. Mostly laundry and cleaning the downstairs bathroom. Maybe I'll be able to get it done after work. I hope so. It would be nice to feel like I'm more or less on top of my shit. 😅

Tomorrow, Harley has a dental/tooth removal. Paws crossed he's the last kid needing the vet for a while. We still need to decide how to handle Scar's arthritis, but hopefully all of the really urgent vetting is done.

Poor Cub feels violated.

Poor Cub feels violated. We found a few stitches near his butt and the vet said we could remove them if we felt comfortable doing it. We got them with no problem because we have the best boy. But look at how sad he is!

Adrian's pee came back normal, so that's good. I guess she just likes to let us know when she's gotta go. 😂 Silly girl.

Look at this good boy.

Look at this good boy. He's almost healed up, thank goodness. I think he's gonna have some gnarly scars. But at least he'll be able play and not have to wear the cone anymore.

Scar has arthritis in his hips/knees and a torn ligament. He's on pain meds and joint supplements. We are looking into cold laser treatments for the arthritis. I've never heard of it, so I didn't automatically agree to try it. Gotta see what that's about.

We didn't get Adrian's test results yet. Hopefully we will tomorrow. Paws crossed that it's good news.

Early morning tomorrow.

Early morning tomorrow. Scar's having x-rays done on his back legs.

We should be getting Adrian's pee test results back soon, too.

I'm really hoping for arthritis and no UTI. Paws crossed these old kittens are ok.

More hormone/period/boobie talk incoming.

More hormone/period/boobie talk incoming.

So my period came 4 days early. It's still going. But I didn't feel PMS at all this time. I do feel like I have a hormonal headache today, though. Nothing is kicking it.

If my schedule is off, that could be why my boobs were sore unexpectedly. They are not overall achy anymore, but I do have some sore spots. They found some cysts when they did the ultrasound and though I never felt them before, I haven't stopped feeling them since all of the mashing. They are super tender and I really don't like it.

Anyway. I don't know if I'm running early because of HRT or not, but it's likely that I am. That's ok. The doctor said it was fine. I just really wish anything would stop my head from hurting.

Bear had a chew when I needed to get ice today...

Bear had a chew when I needed to get ice today. I thought I'd see what happens when he's occupied by something other than a licky mat.

Y'all, he took his chew, ran a weird path towards me in the kitchen, then went outside and got under his favorite bush. 😂 His eyebrows were up so high. I don't think he knew what to do with himself, so he excused himself from the situation. 😂😂😂

Oh, how I missed this face.

Oh, how I missed this face.

I also missed his gross, cheesy kisses. 😂

Every day to avoid drama when I get ice, I "cheese the dogs" - meaning that I put spray cheese on a licky mat so that Bear's distracted when I use the ice dispenser. He still notices, but licks the mat more furiously rather than roaring around the kitchen and biting me.

But the thing about sweet Bear is that after you give him a treat, he gives you kisses. And because he's just a whole mess, they are messy kisses. Whatever he ate is smeared on your skin or clothes. He so reminds me of a toddler with a dirty face that just HAS to give you the love right then.

Gosh, I love him so. He's my baby-kid. ❤️❤️❤️

I'm pretty confident...

I went out of town for a few days...

I went out of town for a few days to see some friends and pick up my snephew. He'll be staying with us indefinitely. We can't wait to introduce you all to him.

Shadow made the trip with me and it was fun to have him to myself for a bit. I love our family, but the days of just me and my Shadow will always be special. We talked so much during the first day on the road that my throat hurt by the time we got to the hotel. He's an excellent travel partner.

When we made it to Jajuan and Janet's house, we were greeted with hugs and tears from Janet and the super adorable 5-year-old Momo inviting us in. I haven't seen Janet (or Jajuan) in probably at least 10 years and she's one of my very best friends. She and I sat up until 4 in the morning just talking, even though we've phone and video chatted over the years. It's just never the same as being together in person.

I had a great time being with them and my heart feels happy. I'm so proud of what they've accomplished and I adore their daughter. It's funny because she's about the same age Shadow was when he first met Janet.

The drive there and back was pretty uneventful, except for the one car who decided to "thread the needle" between me and another car at a stoplight. They hit my driver's side mirror and knocked it out (and kept driving), but thankfully it didn't break. It was dangling by it's electric wires and I clipped it back in. We got them on camera, but there's not even a scratch, so probably nothing to be done. I'm choosing to believe that was their way of avoiding a rear-end collision and not them just being douchebags, but you never know.

Not relevant to anything at all; I just thought it was neat:  At 1:58 pm we had 1 hour and 58 minutes left of our trip home.

I'm all settled in and it's time to go to bed and sleep with a cat on my head. I've missed my bad little Scar. I missed everyone. Cub made it known that he missed me, too. He's a sweetheart. Shaun sent video of Bear seeming to look for me and spending time in my chair while I was gone, but he wasn't excited when I got back. I got kisses and deeply sniffed and that was it. 😂 My weird child.

Anyway, goodnight. 😊❤️

So, I've learned...

I only thought I was wet earlier.

I only thought I was wet earlier. Bear jumped into the pool and then came out to use me as a towel. 😂😂😂

After he got out, he looked like he had to think on it for a moment - JUST a moment, and then more zoomies began. He DEFINITELY got his exercise in today.

He would make a lap and then stop to rub himself on me (or push between my legs, which, I guess, is more efficient). 😂😂😂 And then run some more and then do another drive-by drying off.

I finally had to rub him down with Shaun's towel. He liked that - especially on his ears.

Why are babies so messy and adorable? 😂😂😂

He's always so hype by the time I get off work.

He's always so hype by the time I get off work. We came out and Shaun opened the pool. I sat on the edge and stuck my feet in. He stuck his feet in, too. 😂

Then he was in and out and zooming and in and back out and zooming. I love that he loves running so much. It's a good outlet for his energy.

He really didn't have to wet me up like that, though. 😂😂😂

We got our new bridge up.

We got our new bridge up. It's lower than I thought it would be, but I still like it.

I guess we might need to adjust my hormones.

I guess we might need to adjust my hormones. My sleep still hasn't been great, and my boobs have been SUPER sore for days (boob pain was a known possible side effect; the timing of it is just bad).

Tomorrow is my mammogram and DEXA scan. It doesn't feel like a great time to have my titties squished with as much as they hurt right now, but hopefully it'll be over fast.

Fun times abound.

Action Bear!

Action Bear!

My camera lens was smudged because we were playing. But damn, he's so cute! ❤️

I love it when Adrian dangles. 😂

I love it when Adrian dangles. 😂

Sweet Cubba cuddles.

Sweet Cubba cuddles. He's been so cuddly all day. ❤️

Scar said "Hey, let me see how many feet I can fit on your face!"

Scar said "Hey, let me see how many feet I can fit on your face!"

This is DEFINITELY my favorite in-the-middle-of-the-night game. 😂😂😂

Handsome, tired Cub.

Handsome, tired Cub. We're both ready for him to be out of that cone.

Another video of Bear.

Another video of Bear.

He's being more chill, but seems confused as to why this paper he ripped up is moving when he breathes on it. I guess Physics is not his strong suit. 😂

I love how he looked at me like "You saw that?"

Some silly Bear for you on this fine day.

Some silly Bear for you on this fine day. I don't know why he was pouncing the carpet, nor why he put his whole head on the floor to sniff, but these are not uncommon things he does. He frequently rolls/falls over while sniffing the floor/ground. He has raised dishes to eat and drink from for this reason. 😂

Me wondering why my mouth felt gritty...

Me wondering why my mouth felt gritty after kissing my boy. Peep the chin. He's been playing outside. 😂 That's what I get, I guess. 😂😂😂

Harley's brilliant hide for tonight:

Harley's brilliant hide for tonight:

We're trying to be more careful with Cub since it's heal or surgery...

We're trying to be more careful with Cub since it's heal or surgery.

Hence... The Bearricade.

😂😂😂

The spoon full of kitty pee wasn't enough.

The spoon full of kitty pee wasn't enough. I've gotta find a bigger receptacle to catch it in that won't disturb the cat. That, or find a clean box and get her to go on packing peanuts.

Toebean is healing nicely after his surgery. Another thing to note is that he hasn't pulled any hair since he had those stones removed.

He meowed around the room and got petted and rubbed on everything. Towards the end of the visit, he packed himself back into his carrier. The timing was perfect. 😊😂

Cub had his stitches removed and his wounds cleaned. Most of it looks good, but the puncture in his chest actually seems to go through to the open-ish wound on his side. 😬 The vet wants us to keep it open and draining. If it doesn't start closing from the inside out, he might need surgery to have it cleaned out and drains placed. He's back on antibiotics for now. It's not infected, but as a precaution.

Tell me why this dog is so happy. He was ready to go this morning, and when we got to the vet's office, there was a man near the door. Cub busted his cone off on the doorway to go greet him. When the vet sat down to look at his wounds, he gave her some kisses. He had her in the cone with him. 😂 Then when she and the tech took him in the back to clean everything, he was ready to go - leading the way.

I swear he'd be an easy steal because he loves everyone. I don't know how we got so lucky with this random puppy that was dropped off at my house, but we love our Cub.

Not me feeling stupid accomplished...

Not me feeling stupid accomplished because I just caught Adrian's pee with a spoon. 😂😂😂 I can take it to the vet tomorrow when we take the boys. I hope it's enough. Maybe we won't have to go back to the vet next week.

On that note:  Goodnight.

My handsome boyfriend, Scar.

My handsome boyfriend, Scar. I'm up waiting for Adrian to pee (so I can try to collect it for the vet) and he's trying to lure me into cuddling by being too damn cute.

Hiding Harley.

Hiding Harley.

That was his origin story and I swear it's the story of his life. If he can get into/under/behind something, he will. 😂

I know y'all missed his face. 😂😂😂

I know y'all missed his face. 😂😂😂

Today we took Scar and Adrian to the vet.

Scar's bones felt ok to the doctor - just possibly a bit arthritic. If he's injured, we believe it's in the soft tissue. So he's on an anti-inflammatory/pain med and will be starting on Glucosamine. If he's not feeling better in a week, we'll do x-rays.

Adrian didn't have any bladder stones, thank goodness. But she didn't have any urine for the vet. I've gotta try to catch some for her. I think I can do it, since she meows every time she goes in the box.

Tomorrow, Tobi gets his stitches out and so does Cub (at least some of them, I hope). Cub has one incision that I'm sure is ok; we just don't like the way it looks. Tobi has been doing great. He purrs a lot more and seems more energetic.

Speaking of energetic... The doctor asked how Bear was and I told her he was doing great and running all over the place. She said there is limited life in his knees, and Shaun said "He's not much for planning." 😂😂😂

I know I don't have it in me to limit his activity when he's feeling so well, not to mention he'd be so hard to handle if we did. He's got so many problems that I truly feel like he's here for a good time, not for a long time. 😅 It's a bummer, but I want him to live his best life. Poor guy has been through so much already. He's not even 2 years old yet.

Anyway. Hopefully, tomorrow's vet news is ok, too.

The drugs hit and...

The drugs hit and this is how he spent most of his day - THANK GOODNESS.

Bear is outside "helping" Shaun plant the last few cacti. Bear needs his outside zoomie time so he can be some semblance of chill when he comes back in. 😂

Cub is currently curled up and snoozing next to me.

I haven't decided yet if I'm doing more housework this evening. For now, though, I'm cuddling this dog. ❤️

Cub did great last week about resting, but...

Cub did great last week about resting, but since he finished his pain meds and antibiotics, he's trying to act normal. One of his pain meds was Gabapentin. We just drugged him with some of Bear's leftovers.

He popped a stitch due to playing with Bear. Keeping them apart 24/7 is nearly impossible. I think the best were gonna get is keeping Cub too sleepy to play. I feel like that's gonna be easier on all of us.

I slept better last night.

I slept better last night. I got up early and had the x-rays my doctor ordered done. Work was fine. When I got off work, I had energy to clean, so I did. I cleaned the kitchen table and counters, swept the sunroom and kitchen floors, then vacuumed the rest of downstairs and FINALLY started shampooing the carpet. I didn't get super far with the shampooing, but I hope I'm up for working on it after work for a few more days. That, and mopping the kitchen floor would make me pretty happy.

While I did all of that, Shaun worked in the yard planting our Teddy Bear Cholla. We bought another one over the weekend, and he planted all 3 today. We just have a few more cacti to get in the ground and we should be done with that one area.

I've got my DEXA scan and titty-squishin' scheduled for the 15th. I'm not super excited about the mammogram, but I guess better safe than sorry.

All in all, it was a productive day. My first (outside of work) in a while. I don't function well when the house is cluttered and a certain level of clean isn't maintained. Me and Shaun have just been too worn out to keep up lately, but hopefully that will change soon. There are no more big projects aside from building the greenhouse, but we have time. As long as we get it done before it's cold out, that's fine.

Now if these animals could just be ok for a bit...

Anyway. I'm crashing out. I know I have unread messages and I apologize. I will get to them soon.

Goodnight, friends. ❤️

I think he's having a bad dream. ☹️

I think he's having a bad dream. ☹️ He's doing little woofs and his hackles are up. I've never seen hackles up in their sleep.

Shaun comforted him and he's ok now.

We're washing the usual couch covers because of his leaking wounds, so that's why the couch looks different if you noticed.

I don't know what happened last night...

I don't know what happened last night, but I slept like shit.

My greenhouse was delivered today. I didn't even have the energy to be excited. I struggled just to get through work.

I also don't know what happened to Scar, but he's been favoring his back left leg since yesterday evening. I hope it's just a sprain. We already have 3 vet appointments this week.

I'm having x-rays done in the morning before work. My doctor ordered them when I saw him, but last week was hard and I didn't get to go.

Cubba is hanging in there. He's turning all crusty, but that puncture is still drippy and gross. He finished his antibiotics over the weekend. We're keeping a close eye on things in case he needs more. His stitches should be coming out on Friday.

Bear is so sad he can't play with Cub. We're doing our best to keep him occupied, but it's not easy.

Goodnight, friends. ❤️

My sleep has been much better...

My sleep has been much better since the day after I started HRT. I spent the weekend mostly resting, but we did go to a few plant nurseries on Saturday and Lowe's today.

Other than that, we've rested as much as we could. It wasn't SUPER relaxing because keeping the dogs separated is hard. Cub and Bear both want to play, but Cub needs to rest and not reopen any of his wounds.

Hopefully, we'll only have one more week of stitches and cone-wearing. I really, really hope that Cub can return to a normal routine after his vet appointment on Friday. I feel like we haven't had much down-time since Bear's surgery, and we could use a break.

Getting some supervised cone-free time.

Getting some supervised cone-free time. He is so, so handsome and extra, super sweet. We love this guy. ❤️

We really thought we were just about done toting this dog around...

We really thought we were just about done toting this dog around after his surgery, but sometimes this is the easiest way to keep him off of Cub.

Shaun dropped Cubba off at the vet earlier because one of his wounds looked pretty gnarly to us. The vet said it was ok, though. Thank goodness.

Shaun said Cub was happy to be at the vet and trotted in with his tail wagging. He went off with the tech with no hesitation. He's never met a stranger and I love that about him. I'm glad he's still friendly despite what he went through. He's the sweetest. ❤️

One of Cubba's wounds isn't looking great...

Pics of the backyard.

Pics of the backyard. It's not 100% completely done, but it's getting there.

Shaun wants a few more rocks, we need to put our plants in the ground, we have to decide on a bridge, we might want a few more decorative items, and the greenhouse won't arrive until Monday, but the major stuff is done AND I AM GRATEFUL.

Peep the new gates. We had to have taller gates that automatically lock per the city code because of the pool. We have a neighbor who does iron work so we got some custom-made. I'll describe them under the captions, too.

Also, HUGE, MAJOR shout out to my beautiful, wonderful, creative husband for designing the yard and the gates. He drew everything up for me on his tablet so I could see his ideas. I'm not a great visualizer, unfortunately. But we are both so pleased with how everything turned out.

I'm putting captions under the photos because everything is easier to explain that way.

This is the main space in the yard. I can skate, I can swim, I can play on the grass with the dogs. I. Am. Happy.

This is the side of the house where my plants are. The black square is where the greenhouse is gonna be. The area to the left of the green brush will have a bridge (over the big rocks). The house came with a bridge, but it's falling apart. We liked the idea so we're going to replace it. We just need to find one that Bear can't easily get hurt on.

I don't know if it's easy to tell, but that decorative stone heading into the back corner is actually drainage away from the house. It was already there with the bridge, so we chose more river rock to outline the pool/give it a more natural-appearing shape and tie it all together.

This is my succulent kennel which is blocking up the patio. I can't wait to get this area more cleaned up.

This is our passenger gate. We wanted the Tree of Life to represent us since that was our wedding design. The New Mexican spin on that is that it's windy as fuck here, and we love it. Also, the roadrunner makes my day.

This is the ugly pool equipment and the metal building we built. We are thinking about putting a shower under the pergola so we can quickly rinse off after swimming. We might enclose one side to hide all of this. I don't know yet.

Between these 2 trees, Shaun would like a Japanese Maple. This is an area that was full of weeds. It's cleaned up now and pretty much a blank canvas. We don't know what we're going to do with it yet.

This is our larger gate. It has a Yucca/Agave plant, hot air balloons up top, and a quail family along the bottom. My only regret here is that we didn't put the quail going in one direction rather than coming towards the middle, but that's ok. If you know about quail families, you know the parents lead a whole-ass train of babies. Missed opportunity. I didn't think of this until it was too late, but I like the symbolism of coming together, too.

Also probably gonna put my swing set over here.

My not-fully-planted succulent garden. I love looking at this and can't wait until it fills in a bit. There's yucca, agave, prickly pear, cholla, and a barrel cactus. I think I'm gonna get some of the clumping beauties for behind that wooden bench. I am so excited!

I'm literally crying.

I'm literally crying. I just had my video appointment with Midi Health and SHE LISTENED TO ME about the hormonal symptoms I've been having since 2022.

I start HRT today. Hopefully I can sleep again. I would love to get rid of this brain fog. Maybe my bones will heal. She's sending in a referral for a DEXA scan to see where I am. I was diagnosed with Osteopenia in 2015 when I was having trouble walking due to Psoriatic Arthritis. HRT should help protect my bones. I kind of need those.

I tried to get treated in 2022 when I was in Cincinnati. She tested my blood and said since my periods were regular that I am fine. Both of those "tests" are outdated and inaccurate.

Midi is making a difference for us by taking the symptom-based diagnostic approach. WE ARE HALF OF THE POPULATION. WE MATTER. Life isn't over at 40. Or 50. Or 60. It's over when you die. Live your best life until that day comes.