Cruising the High Seas...

Friday September 4th

Friday I put a few hours at work to make up my 40 for the week and then I was outta there. I had a number of things I wanted to do before our planned departure from Portage around 5. I ran some errands, picked up some last minute items from the store and cleaned up the rest of the house and pet boxes. Around 3 I started packing. Around 3:30 Mike calls to say he’s late. Slightly annoyed, I try to be patient. Around 4:30, he calls again to say he’s “in transit”. I’m practicing patience but it’s not easy =) Finally around 5 he’s home and starts packing. Unfortunately we don’t make it out of the house until almost 8:30. At 8:45 we realize we don’t have cash so we make a pit stop at an ATM and grab something to eat. Finally around 9 we’re on the road to Detroit.

After a long, uneventful trip to our hotel, we arrive at the Detroit airport (hotel is inside) around 10:30 and drop off our car at the long term parking. Our hotel was surprising nice for the price we paid. We didn’t stay up late since we had to get up early the next morning.

Vacation Day 1 - September 5th

When the alarm went off at 6 it was hard to get up and get going. As always, we somehow managed to gather the strength and lug our stuff half way across the airport to our gate. We paid an exurbanite fee for our four (yes, four) bags to get checked. With that done, we made our way to the long line for security.

My trip didn’t start out well. I had my license and ticket in hand and I gave it to the security guy. He looked at it and then up to me sharply and asked for the “right” ticket. I freaked out thinking, “what the hell does he mean, ‘right’ ticket??” Then he pointed out I had Mike’s ticket. Whoops. At least it was just a mix up and not really a problem. Either way, just so you know, those guys really DO check your name at the gate!

Once we were off the plane we played this horrible stand-in-line-and-wait. First, we waited for our luggage at the baggage claim, then to board the cruise bus, and then finally at the port we waited in this ridiculously long line for customs and more security checks. Over all I think it was over two hours in line. Some guy commented that he felt like we were in line at Cedar Point and I think it was a good analogy.

First off, the cruise is awesome. The boat is the biggest thing in water I’ve ever seen and we were both impressed with how massive everything is here. It’s literally like a small city floating on water. There are shops, bars, elevators, escalators, pools, hot tubs, casinos, clubs, a spa, a portrait studio, gym, game rooms, kids clubs and pools and I’m sure many other things I haven’t seen yet. Our room is nice for what it is. I don’t think the rooms are supposed to be luxurious. It’s neat and well mapped for the space. The bed isn’t a rock so I feel confident I might actually get some sleep while we’re on the trip.

We are disappointed we can’t get unlimited Wi-Fi on the boat. As most things are on vacation, everything good is extra. I can get on for a little while but it will cost us too much to surf for long. We did pay for unlimited diet coke refills because, well, it’s us and we can’t live without diet coke and I can’t imagine paying $2 for a can for every one we’ll drink. Mike will cost me $5 a meal, minimum! The food is free and unfortunately for me, very good. When we arrived they said we could have lunch at this “café”. Yeah, the café is this giant gourmet-type buffet. I wasn’t expecting the choice or size of the place. We ate more than we should have. I am seriously going to gain 10 pounds on this trip.

So far, neither of us has experienced any motion sickness. It is a bit strange to have the occasional jolt here or there to remind you you’re on a boat. But really, you don’t feel much. It’s like small rumblings every once in awhile. Being at sea is very cool though. Just looking out and seeing endless ocean from the ground (as opposed to our plane trip to Hawaii) is far cooler. I will take lots of pictures.
For dinner here you have to dress up according to the day. I.E. It’s either business casual or formal. Tonight is business casual so we dressed up a bit and took off for dinner around 9. We have “our time” dining so we don’t have to eat at a specific time. It’s a bit of a joke though because even with our time dining they take reservations so you have to wait until there is a table available. We had the option to wait for a table for two or sit with a group. We opted for a group and it turned out really well.


We were sat with a couple from England and a couple from India/Minnesota. We managed to find things to keep the conversation going. We spent over two hours at dinner. Mike really wanted to go bar hopping and dancing but I was too exhausted. I talked him into turning in early so we could finally get some much needed sleep! Eventually he gave in but only after I promised tomorrow we would go clubbing.

So far, no animal figures made out of towels yet. Someone told me they do that so I’ll keep an eye out and take a picture if it happens this week. Right now we’re sailing to Haiti. Tomorrow will just be a day at sea. No excursions yet.

Vacation Day 2 – September 6th

Today we slept in until almost 11. I know it was almost 11 because Mike had a panic attack and made us dress at record speed so we could make it to the food court before they stopped serving breakfast. I am not a huge breakfast fan but Mike really loves breakfast. We managed to make it there just as they were shutting down and found some left over breakfast. With the crisis averted, we decided after breakfast we were find a nice spot on deck to get some sun and go swimming.

I found a pretty nice spot and starting reading my other book. Mike decided he wanted to listen to his iPod but he didn’t have iTunes loaded on his computer. He left me in the sun to load the program on the computer. An hour later I was fairly roasted and still no Mike. I didn’t want to leave where I was because the ship is so vast you can easily lose someone. I thought it was about the time he should be back. I gave him two more pina colda’s worth of time and decided it was worth it to lose him rather than roast my fair skin anymore! Exasperated, I made it back to the room and found my husband plugging away at the computer – completely oblivious to the time. He seemed shock to see me so red. I retorted, “What do you expect when you leave me in the sun for over a hour??”

Sheepishly, Mike agreed to take me to get ice cream and stay in the air conditioned area for awhile. My luck didn’t last too long though because eventually Mike wanted to go to the pool since he hadn’t been all day. I finally conceded an hour later and he left me in a chair in the shade (total shade) and I read some more. It wasn’t too long before Mike found out that I did – it’s flipping hot on the top of the ship. He swam for about a half hour and then he was done.


About this time we had to get ready for the formal night. There was a Captain’s reception in the main promenade area and dresses/suits/tuxes are required. We got dolled up and went to join the party. We enjoyed some free Champaign and photo opportunities around the ship before we headed up for dinner. Again, our any time dining was a bit of a joke and he ended up waiting for awhile and then agreeing to eat with another couple.

This time we ate with a couple from Puerto Rico. They were super nice and spoke English very well. She was an engineer and he was a pharmaceutical sales rep. The guy and Mike talked for a long time about basketball and other sports I knew squat about. Eventually we talked about the places we wanted to go on the trip and later the night. Our exciting moment was when Mike decided to be very brave and order escargot – SNAILS! I had my camera ready in case he spit them back out. Nothing nearly as dramatic happen because he ended up thinking they tasted very good and had a texture like mushrooms. Gross.
Once dinner was over we went our separate ways. Mike and I headed down toward the clubs but then I started to feel very ill. Too late, I realized I screwed myself. Some of you may remember that I’m lactose intolerant. Overall, it’s not too bad and I can consume a certain amount of dairy. However, my breakfast with yogurt, snack of Funky-Monkey ice cream, three cream beverages with Bailey’s, appetizer of cheese, dinner with cream sauce and dessert with extra cream finally caught up with me.

First off, Mike is real trooper. I was very ill and unable to do anything but cry. He really wanted to go out and I promised we would. In my defense, I did try a total of three times to leave after I felt sick but we didn’t make it farther than the end of the hall before I felt too sick to go on. Eventually we gave up and called it a night.

Pat me on the back for ruining a vacation night!

P.S. I admit I did smile a bit through my discomfort when this elephant was waiting for us on our bed when we returned to our room.


Vacation Day 3 – September 7th

Today I felt about 60% better. I really over did it so I’m officially screwed for about two weeks on milk products. Good news is I will not be gaining much weight on this cruise. Bad news, I will miss all the incredible desserts and foods that contain dairy! (Did I mention that’s about 80% of the food they serve??) Sigh. Someday I will look at this like a blessing. Just not today.
Today was pretty exciting beside my slight lag in energy. We arrived at Haiti sometime last night or early this morning. Not really such when we got here. Anyways, we got up early to spend the day on the beach. The process was a little frustrating because we had to get on a boat to get to the island. With as many people as there are on this ship it took awhile to get going. Eventually we got to the island and started exploring.


Haiti is very beautiful, or at least what I’ve seen of it. There are more mountainous areas than I thought there would be and the waters are so clear and sparkling. We walked around for a bit trying to find the perfect spot to pull up a chair. I almost stepped on a baby hermit crab! I was very upset about it. Mike looked shocked I knew what it was and I felt a pang of longing for hermit crabs again. (I owned hermit crabs in middle school through college). Anyways, I saved the little buy from the walk way he was in and put him in a better location to climb a tree and get food/water. Yes, I know that is very like me and I doubt anyone is surprised I found something living in my path =)


After our small adventure with the hermit crab, we found a nice spot on the beach and went swimming and sun bathed. On our way back to the ship we took a spontaneous trip on a waverunner tour. It was super, super fun. I haven’t been on a waverunner in almost 10 years. I talked Mike into letting me drive and I made sure we hit some pretty big waves. I’ve never been on a waverunner in the ocean and let me tell you, it’s far more intimidating. First off, the waves are bigger and more frequent. Second, there are JELLY FISH in the water just floating there taunting you to just try and come in the water – talk about warding you from wanting to fall off in any fashion. Third – the sun is far hotter here than any lake I went in. Fourth – I almost had a heart attack when Mike and I were supposed to switch drivers. I’m happy to report I am alive and he did very well as a driver. I only have a few scratches and grey hairs from the experience.

Oh, I bought a… box? or something from a Haitian in a canoe who came up to us on the waverunner tour. The guide said they would come up to us eventually and that we should barter for anything they try to sell us. Otherwise, they will laugh at us later for being such suckers. I talked the man own to half the price but then I didn’t have exact change for half so I ended up giving him $20. I’m not sure the box is worth $20 but it’s handmade, unique and I bartered for it in the middle of the ocean. How many people can say that?


Right now we’re back in the room and blessed air conditioning trying to get cooled down and cleaned up. I have some very uneven sunburn right now. Surprisingly, my makeup has better SPF than the stupid sunscreen I bought. Too bad I didn’t know that before I put on sunscreen instead of makeup this morning. Mike is finally getting rid of his farmers tan to a nice even burn. We’re waiting for the restaurants to open up so we can have a late lunch. I’m finishing up on the blog and Mike is going down to buy all the pictures they took of us since we got here. He really likes pictures.

We’re planning to go to a comedy show tonight and tomorrow we’ll be in Jamaica. We’re scheduled to go on a horseback riding tour and swimming in the ocean on horseback. It should be pretty interesting!

Neverending sickness...

For those of you who are curious, Mike’s business trip went well. He made it home safely and the trip was not a waste for him. I’m not sure exactly what he learned from the experience but it sounds like he felt informed when he left. Not long after he returned home, sometime the week of August 10th, Mike succumbed to the flu/cold virus going around. He missed a little bit of work (shocking for him!) but he was a real trooper when we had plans on Friday night to go bowling with some friends. We had a great time bowling and even managed to keep up with the pros – Kristen and John – in scores. I am not a great bowler but I like to go. Mike and John had a healthy competition going for quite some time. I think John ended up beating Mike but not by much. I think I broke 100 once but that was it =)


We just don’t have time to be sick in this household…Saturday August 15th we had plans to go with Melanie and Bruco to a “Salsa Showdown” in Holland, Michigan. It was a competition for salsa. Local people made their own versions of salsa and the talent ranged from amateur to pro. You got a basket of chips and you went around tasting the different selections. When you found one you liked the best you gave the people a poker-like chip. We all picked different people who we liked best. I like sweeter salsas so I picked someone who used pears, mango and pineapple in his salsa. It was super yummy. I think Mike picked someone who made a different version of a mango salsa.

After the competition we took off for the beach. This was one of the first weekends Michigan had where the weather was warm enough to go to the beach (80s). It’s been pretty cold for the summer. I can hardly believe we even had a summer since the weather has been so cool. Anyways, we brought our blankets, umbrella, books and coolers to the beach for a few hours of fun. I’m not really a swimmer anymore so I lathered up with sunscreen and played a beached whale while everyone else went swimming. I hear the water wasn’t too bad but they didn’t last long in it. Overall we decided we were all old and didn’t stay on the beach longer than 2 hours. It got too hot and uncomfortable. We packed up and left early. We stopped for dinner on the way back before crashing for the night.

Sunday, August 16th Mike and I had plans (again) with Mom and Dad Smolsky. A new casino opened up in Marshall, Michigan and we decided to see what the fuss was about. We also wanted to check out Mom’s new patio they had installed at their house. We arrived around 1 p.m. and saw the patio first. The day wasn’t very nice or we might have stayed for a glass of ice tea or something before the casino. I took some pictures so you can see what it looks like. I think the workers did a good job. Mom said it took them a full 8 hours to complete. The stones were pretty heavy.

After viewing the patio we took off for lunch and a bit of gambling at the casino. I have to say it was quite shocking to see my parents at a casino. I just haven’t ever seen them in that type of environment. We ate lunch at a buffet and managed to convince Mom and Dad to try their luck at the slot machines. No one had much luck with it. I lost my allotted money pretty quick. Mike played Craps for awhile but he didn’t win more than $20. Overall it was a fun trip but obviously not our time to win.

Around this time I finally caught what Mike had and got sick. At first it was bad but then it tapered off into annoying. I was sick the whole week with typical cold symptoms. The weekend of August 22nd & 23rd Mike and I attended a friend’s pig roast, visited his parents and did some much needed clothes shopping. We decided to try the malls in Grand Rapids since they have more store choices. Overall we managed to get a lot of stuff for reasonable prices because of the back-to-school sales. It was an exhausting weekend of socializing and shopping (hard to believe I can say such a thing!).

This week (August 24th) I haven’t improved health wise. I finally gave in and went to the doctor on Wednesday. They diagnosed me with bronchitis and sent me home with antibiotics. At first I felt like I improved but by Friday I was feeling the same and I didn’t have many antibiotics left. However, as usual I didn’t have time to go to the doctor for it. Instead we had plans just about every night of the week. Our friend Steve and Dee came to town from Connecticut for a wedding so we say Steve Thursday night. We had a great time but I was reminded by my lungs that smoke and bronchitis do NOT mix!! I left early so I could breathe.

Friday we had plans to visit my friend Alice in Elkhart, Indiana. Alice is my ex’s great aunt who has always kept up with me after things were over with us. She in her late 80s and will most likely be moving in with her daughter in New Jersey soon. She’s sharp as a tack but her body is just not cooperating. I promised her I would bring my new husband Mike to visit her before she left. Mike was a real trooper going to visit someone he didn’t know well at all and accepting the circumstances of how I knew her.

Overall the visit went fantastic. Alice’s daughter and son-in-law, Linda and Bob, were in town planning to take her with them back to New Jersey next week. They brought their two birds with them and it was very entertaining. I will try to post the video of these birds doing their tricks. We had a great time watching them and chatting with Linda, Bob and Alice.

Saturday Mike and his dad, Rich, started on the deck project. Our deck needed to have a bunch of nails replaced and have the stain reapplied. I understand this is a long, drawn out process. They got to work pretty early in the day fixing boards and putting in new screws. Mike’s Mom Lois brought Charlie to town to have his next series of vaccinations from the local SPCA where they adopted him. Louie tormented Charlie a bit in his cage. I'm surprised Louie is not more frightened of dogs but he doesn't seem afraid of anything! L0is and I took Charlie to have that done and then I drove her back to Grand Rapids so she wouldn’t have to stick around all day while the boys worked. We had lunch afterward at the mall and looked around for a little bit. I took off soon after to come home. Mike and his dad worked pretty late while I relaxed for a few hours before bed.

This morning I got up to go wedding shower shopping with my friend Kim. Our co-worker is getting married next weekend so we had an office pool for her gift. We had a pretty nice budget so we got quite a few nice things for her. Afterward we had lunch at Jessica’s house before all three of us went to see the movie “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” I think we all had the opinion we need to read the book. I liked the movie, although I’m not sure I would run out and buy it, but I hear the book is much better. I’ll put the book on my list of books I need to read.

Mike and Rich were still working on the deck when I got back. They’re making really nice progress. The reddish color of our deck is almost completely gone. Unfortunately I don’t think Mike will be done by Wednesday as he originally hoped. We’ll have to squeeze in finishing it before our cruise next week though!
As for me, after seeing the movie I gave in once again and decided to go to the doctors for my unimproved condition. Today my coughing started producing bloody mucus (sorry if that’s TMI!) Since we leave in less than 5 days I really need to be better for this trip! I went to the local urgent care place and they got me in pretty quick. Good news it he bronchitis is gone but I have fluid in my ears and they believe I’m developed a sinus infection. While the antibiotic I’m currently finishing is great for bronchitis it doesn’t do much for sinus problems. So I’m not on a second round of a different antibiotic, steroids to help relieve the swelling in my esophagus from coughing so much (hence the blood), cough medicine to help calm the cause of my irritation, and an inhaler I need to take 4 times a day. Seriously, if this doesn’t cure me, I think I’ll scream (or at least try).

The doctor at the urgent care suggested if this all doesn’t help than I need to go back to the allergist and get tested for asthma. Since I’m allergic to my darling cats, I may be fighting a losing battle if these problems all stem from my cats and not a virus. I really hope it’s just a virus. If it is the cats, I have a whole new set of problems!

That’s about all I got for now. We leave Friday evening for Detroit to catch our plane at the butt crack of dawn on Saturday. We’ll be gone Saturday September 5-12th. We leave from Miami on the Royal Caribbean cruise to Jamaica, Haiti and an island somewhere off Mexico. We’re both really looking forward to it!

Unexpected Trips, Babies, Old Friends, New Opportunities!

After an uneventful Monday and Tuesday, Mike finds out on Wednesday he needs to go on a last-minute business trip to Tampa for a convention. We tried to find a cheap ticket for me to go along with him but on three days notice, we had zero luck finding anything reasonable. So, Mike had to plan the trip by himself. Thursday was spent doing laundry and trying to iron things he would need for the trip. Mike left Friday afternoon for his flight out of Detroit.

As for me, I made plans to go out with some friends since I was free Friday night. I met up with my friend Erin and her cousin Ashley. We started out at Shakespeare’s Pub where we also met up with some friends for a bit before heading out for dancing at Wild Bull. Kzoo is pretty small when you think about it so it shouldn't be surprising we found more friends at Wild Bull =) It was really a fun time. We had drinks, friends and dancing.

Highlights of the evening included meeting a very short but rich man whose parents own half of Kalamazoo, at least that’s according to a friend of mine who says he knows him. Then poor Ashley was stalked by a local news anchor who had way too much to drink and wanted her to run away with him into the night or something. That was creepy. Erin had a "regular" attender of the bar ask her to marry him or dance with him, or maybe it just give him the time of day. Either way, she said no. Then a friend of our friends started pretending he was the lead singer for some song that was playing in the club. I don’t remember what it was but it was hilarious watching him “work the mic”.

I didn’t get in until 3ish on Saturday morning. I sent Mike some text messages since he was keeping up with me during the night. He ended up seeing a movie in Tampa after settling into his hotel. Saturday I slept in pretty late and woke up to find it was raining hard. I had plans to visit my high school/college friend Janell who just had a baby last week. I got up, bought a last minute gift (I can’t do anything ahead of time anymore…) and started my trip to Elkhart.

It didn’t take as long as I thought it would to get there so I ended up being an hour and half early when I reached Elkhart. Since Janell and Rob are still getting used to the new baby routine, I didn’t want to show up unexpectedly. Instead, I went to visit Alice, my ex’s great aunt who kept up with me after the divorce. She’s doing great for someone in her late 80s and she was so happy to see me it was touching. I spent some time catching up with her before I had to go. I left with the promise I would come back with Mike so she can meet him so I will have to arrange to do that soon!

So, I went to visit Janell, Rob and the new baby. Jayla Jean is super cute and so tiny. I forget how small a new born can be – especially when they’re considered premature. I got to hold her for a long time which I visited with Rob and Janell. I was enjoying myself immensely when before I knew it, it was time for Jayla’s next feeding and I had to get going. I also promised when I would visit again soon. I’ll have to figure out when and how later =)

After leaving Rob, Janell & Jayla, I met up with Camla and Paul for dinner at Luccesse. I haven’t been there in years, since I moved from Elkhart, but I found their food was still delicious. They have a new restaurant, a lot bigger than the last, but it’s still the same place for the most part. I talked with them for awhile before we got the distinct impression the waitress at Luccesse’s didn’t want us lingering in her section. It was very rude. But we made our excuses and decided to leave around 8. I headed home and crashed pretty soon afterwards.

Today I slept in and did a lot of laundry and cleaning up. My parents came over for dinner and to keep my company this evening. I’m just now (at 10:30!) finishing up the laundry/ironing. After this blog I’ll have to put it all away… sigh. It never ends.

From what I heard Mike’s trip is going well and he should be home around midnight. I will probably not wait up for him but at the rate I’m getting things done, he may be home before I finish!

This week I start a new opportunity in a different department. It’s not a permanent position and I’m not sure how the hours are going to work but it sounds like it’s a trial for a possible position later. Hopefully it’s something I’ll like. If not, I still have a solid position where I am =)

Wish me luck!

Dozeman Summer Days...

So, summer is almost over and I’m just getting around to telling you all about it. Sorry for the short summary but I don’t have time to write a novel now. As always, I will strive to keep up better.

June Highlights:

June 6th – My friend Kristen’s bachelorette party. It was a wild night of good friends and fun.

June 10th – Got my hair cut. Not really digging it. I’m not sure why I always think I’ll like it short and then when it’s actually short, I hate it. It’s growing out though so I’ll live in the mean time. .

June 13th – Kristen’s wedding day – it was a beautiful event and although we had a scare with some rain early on, the weather turned sunny and the outdoor wedding resumed.

June 20th – Our friend Lee’s Wedding – yet another gorgeous wedding at Henderson Castle in Kalamazoo. Doesn't this photo look like it's out of a magzine? She had a beautiful wedding party. I think the're all dancers... Lee and Erik are dance instructors =)
June 21st - Imprumto trip to Old Mission Light House in northern Michigan. Great trip - wish we liked wine more so we could apprecaite the wineries. Instead, we enjoyed the fresh cherry cobler.

June 26th – Mike's parents adpot a new puppy for our local SPCA. I help name him Charley.

July Highlights:

July 2nd – Our friend Matt turned 30 – we spent half the night celebrating with him and his party and the other half of the night we met up with Mandee who was visiting from Texas.

July 11th – Mike’s cousin Kaylee’s wedding in Caledonia. It was an interesting experience. It was a very laid back wedding.

After the wedding I ended my night with a bachelorette party for our friend Chris. I don't have many photos, but this pretty much describes the night.

July 18th – Free weekend – more catch up on house/yard work.

July 21st – July 24th - Mike’s in Texas visiting Texas Instruments and working with them on some microchip for work. He was very excited to go. Total nerd trip.

July 22nd – HARRY POTTER. I actually saw it opening night on July 15th but some other friend hadn’t seen it yet and Mike was out of town so I went again. Still great the second time around.

July 23rd – Met up with some friends for a trip to the Wine Loft downtown. It’s a very posh wine bar and although I don’t really care for wine, I found some nice Sangria drinks I liked.

July 24th – Went to see “The Ugly Truth” with some friends for my birthday. We had dinner before the movie and my friend bought my admission to the show. It was a really nice night!

July 25th – My birthday =) It was a very nice birthday. Mike bought me a purse I really wanted. It’s red Italian leather and really shiny. I love it. He also got me a Cold Stone birthday cake. Most of my birthday was spent getting ready to go to our friends Timm & Chris’s wedding. It was a really fun event. We made it a joint celebration with my birthday and their wedding so it was a long, tiring night. I spent most of the next day recovering.

July 29th – Mom and Dad came over for Mom’s birthday. We had a nice pot roast dinner and watched Seven Pounds.

July 31st – Combo birthday bash with my friend Erin whose birthday was July 29th. We had a bunch of friends meet us out at a restaurant and we partied. Mike and I wussed out at about 10. We had a long weekend ahead of us..

August 1st – It’s the annual ATD (Advanced Technology Department) Summer Party. Mike’s coworkers all get together and this lake house in Delton. We spend the weekend eating, drinking, swimming, boating, tubing and visiting. I spend most of the time trying to avoid mosquitoes. I’m happy to say the new Off clip on pack with fan worked great. However, I also used spray as a back up measure. Thankfully, this year I only came home with 5 bites as opposed to the 30-40 in previous years. I’m also happy to say I once again kept up with the boys on the tubing events. My arms, legs and stomach are killing me now but during the actual event, I held my own through giant waves, high speeds and other tubes hanging on top of me. Thankfully no one was hurt during the process.

August 2nd – We continued the eating/drinking/tubing until about 3 p.m. when Mike and I called it a weekend. We got home and I wanted to load some photos on the computer when I saw Louis intently staring at our fridge in the basement. It’s just a little college size refrigerator we store down there. Well, I think he’s chasing a spider so I move the thing a little so he can get behind it and take care of things. About 30 seconds later, I realize he’s not chasing a spider but something much bigger. Slightly freaked out, I recruit Mike to help me catch whatever it is. I stick Louis in the laundry room and go to find something to capture it with. Long story short, and after the basement is half a wreak, we corner this little mouse and chase him into our trash can. We then drove two miles down the road where I let him go into the woods. It was quite the experience. I applaud my husband for not questioning my methods or once suggesting we let the cats get it or kill it once it’s caught. Just another reason I married him... He has finally figured me out when it comes to animals =)

Now I’m just catching up on my blog and loading some music on my iPod. My muscles ache so I probably will not make it the grocery store tonight! At least there is always tomorrow…