The Cone of Shame is Serious

I am definitely running the risk of sounding like the crazy cat lady by posting another cat post, but this is a good one.  Promise.

Our two kitties had a "procedure" shortly after moving to Atlanta.  When I picked them up, I had a shocking, horrified moment when I realized they both had on the dreaded cones.  However, the vet prefers to call them "E-Collars".  Whatever.  They're cones.

These two cones were supposed to be left on for a whole week.  It was the saddest sight, seeing them walk around and bump into things with the cones....  So.  I cheated and took them off early.  Even though I removed them, they caused so much emotional damage that one of our cats made a suicide attempt.  For real.

One afternoon, I realized it was just a little too quiet in the apartment.  I walked around calling for Captain.  Calling, calling and calling and no answer.  I thought maybe he was just hiding and went back to work but couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.  It suddenly hit me that I had left the second floor porch door open and maybe he had decided to make a run for it.  As I was peering over the porch railing, looking at my car that was parked just below the porch - I noticed kitty prints on my car roof then a big smudge down the windshield (where said kitty had slid down the glass), then more prints on the hood.

I raced downstairs and found Captain hovering and shaking underneath my car.

Phew.  Suicide attempt failed. 

Needless to say, the porch is now off limits for kitties.

Soooo sad.  I hate the cones.

The scene of the crime

The kitties will never see this porch.  Ever. Again.

Our First Marathon

OK, so not really.  It was just a 5K, but it sure did feel like a marathon!  It's all relative, right?

Several weeks ago, TB decided he would get involved in some of the social activities at his new job and signed us both up for the race.  Key words here:

"Several weeks ago."

I'm a planner, can get pretty competitive and also a casual runner.  These three things do not go together with signing up for a race just a few weeks in advance. 

So the weeks leading up to the race were filled with evening runs around our new neighborhood.  I'd like to say that we were one of those cute couples that you see running together down the road.  Unfortunately, I'm too slow for TB, so he finishes our course and then I arrive 5-10 minutes later.  Occasionally, if he loves me a lot that day, he'll start to run back through the course to find me - just to make sure I didn't get abducted somewhere along the way.  How nice of him.

It seems that this one little race has created a monster.  TB obsessively checked the race website for days afterward so he could see how he ranked.  He already has plans to run a 10K and who knows, maybe we will run our first "real" marathon one day.....

So the race really wasn't in a parking garage, but we forgot to take an actual running picture until we were about to leave.....

Crickets

Yes yes, there's been a bit of silence over here on the 'ol blog. But, we did indeed move to Atlanta and have been here since the beginning of April.

In order to introduce ourselves to our new city we took a Saturday and did a Tour O'Atlanta. We took in a little festival at Piedmont Park, went to a Braves game and did a marathon (or a 5K - but it felt like a marathon, more details on this one coming soon) through a portion of downtown.

All in all, we've been enjoying the new city and are glad we made this move! If only we could find a house....

Can't go to a festival without a corndog.

A view of downtown from the park.

Lllamas are even at Piedmont Park.

Turner Field

TB at his very first Braves game!

I wear my sunglasses at night

Ahh.  Sunglasses.

Sunglasses are another one of those things that I've always had a hard time justifying.  I'm all about spending some cash on a nice purse or some good shoes - OK, so sometimes a lot of cash, but that's beside the point.  Even after all those years in Florida, I had a routine of buying a pair of Target sunglasses, keeping them about a month, losing them and then starting the cycle over again.  I always said that I'd take better care of my sunglasses if I spent more money on them - never mind that I probably spent twice as much on all the Target sunglasses.  You might think that if I couldn't justify purchasing sunglasses myself, that this would be the perfect thing for a present.   Nope. Even after TB entered the picture and realized that I liked a nice purse or two for bithday presents, he always laughed when I mentioned sunglasses.  He didn't believe for a second that I wouldn't lose them.  No faith in me.  None. 

Flash forward a few years.  I'm getting older.  Which means, among many things...... wrinkles.  I'm dilligently doing my research on all the wrinkle prevention products and wouldn't you know, one of the top recommendations for wrinkle prevention is sunglasses.  Large sunglasses, everywhere you go.  Hmmm.  Interesting.  This might just be my "I can now justify a really expensive pair of trendy sunglasses" excuse.  Yes, yes.  I think so.

About this same time, I started getting the feeling that TB was gaining faith in my "hanging onto expensive things ability".  For example:

Watch - 3 years, check
Earrings - 2 years, check
Engagement ring - 1.5 years, check

Not too bad, if I do say so myself.

Approximately a month ago - yes, an entire month.  We ventured to the mall and I got myself the most beautiful pair of non-Target sunglasses. Every time that peskly little sun peeks out - I immediately grab for those shiny new sunglasses, pop them out of their case (yes, I keep them in the case) and put them on my face for some serious wrinkle prevention.  I haven't lost sight of them and it's been three weeks. Pretty darn impressive.

These are defnintely NOT the sunglasses that were purchased, but you get the idea.

It's not so bad. Right?

There are some things in life that I refuse to do.  One of those things, is to pay a pet deposit at an apartment for a cat.  I'm mean really, cats don't generally pee on things, chew on things, scratch, smell - all those things that apartments are afraid will happen if you have a dog.  A dog.  Not a cat.

Sticking to my guns, we didn't pay a pet deposit when we got our cats last Christmas. 

Little did I know, we didn't get any ordinary cats.  These cats chew on things and scratch at the carpet.....  a lot.  I mean a lot.

It will be quite obvious when we move out that we had animals.  I have a sneaking suspicion that they'll notice the carpet....... and charge me the pet deposit.   Is it really that bad?  I mean, just because you can see the subfloor doesn't mean anything.

Why, Hello Mr. U-Haul. Old Friend.

And here we go again.  Boxes, tape, cleaning, packing, lifting - all the joys of moving.  This will make the 4th city we've lived in - in the past 2 years.  Tampa.  Greensboro.  Raleigh.  Atlanta.

I'm actually not complaining.  We're quite excited about the move and will finally get to buy a house!  (New Year's Resolution - check).  TB has a great new job and I have a new position with the same company.  And this may actually mean that we'll be able to eat a dinner together on a weeknight!  Wow, that hasn't happened since........well........ a while.

Since ATL is close to where I'm from, I'm so excited to show TB all the fun things to do in the city.  The Coke Museum, the Zoo, Stone Mountain, the Braves, Centennial Park, Piedmont Park....  We might seem like tourists for the first few months, but what better way to get to know your new city?

I must say that I am a little concerned about how TB will handle the traffic.  He tends to have a slight case of the road rages.  OK, so maybe a major case of them.  Hmmmm, but you know I may be able to make this road rage work to my advantage..            

I'm thinking this may actually help my case of purchasing a home in the city and not in the burbs. 

Burbs = lots of traffic

Non Burbs = a cute little bungallo in the city with original hardwood floors and details, a large front porch, walking distance to neighborhood shops and eateries and NO traffic

Hmmm.  Sounds like a plan... I think I might like this move...

"You don't like cake? Oh. You don't like cake."

As February is drawing to a close, I suppose I should catch everyone up on an important event that happened at the beginning of the month (bad blogger - I know). 

TB had a rather important birthday, and true to my traditions - I had to call a lot of attention to his birthday and do my very best to embarrass him. 

We decided to make a little weekend trip back to Tampa for the annual pirate festival of Gasparilla.  Since a good number of our friends still live there and this was the weekend before his birthday, I thought that Friday evening would be the perfect time to celebrate.  And no celebration would be complete without........

Matching party shirts!  And not just any matching party shirts, but party shirts with a classic picture of TB's dance moves (he's obviously figured out how to make circles with his butt).   I got so excited about this shirt and the awesome picture, that I couldn't stop there.  I also decided to have a cake made with the picture printed on it.....

Perhaps sometimes I should check my excitement.  During the celebration, I asked TB why he wasn't eating the cake.  I mean, afterall, I did get it with mocha filling, his favorite flavor.  He then burst my bubble and politely reminded me that he doesn't like cake.

Oh.

I knew that.  But totally forgot.  Bad. Wife.  Darn that excitement.

Regardless of the cake incident, it was a fabulous time and great to catch up with all of our friends!

Happy Birthday TB!

(The cake that I shouldn't have bought....)

(Jeffy is obviously excited about Gasparilla the next day)

(The attendees)

(Our wedding re-inactment, although I don't think we actually did this at the wedding)