Hey xanga friends,

It has been forever since I blogged!  It's only because I have been unable, until now, to share my ramblings online.  I just got a new laptop today and for the first time in 4 1/2 years (for me) we have internet and cable in our house.  I can't believe it!  Sooooooo happy.

Here is our update:  James and I celebrated one wonderful year of marriage on November 1 ... the day everyone in France packs a picnic lunch, and spreads a blanket on their dead relatives graves for a combination of "dinner on the ground" and what we do for "decoration" in small towns.  If I'm wrong in my assessment of All Saints Day, let me know.  But for me, it will always be the best day.  The day I married my polar opposite and my best friend. 

It has been a good year, full of challenges and blessings alike.  The joining of two lives so cemented in opposite routines and expectations has been tough.  I have come to realize, but not truly accept, that my home will never, ever look like a spread in Southern Living magazine.  That dream is dying slowly and painfully as respect has come to replace uncrumpled curtains and clear horizontal and dust-free surfaces.  Stacks of video games and dvds (and I DON'T mean chick flicks) along with cables and cords that go "who knows where" have added to the decor of our Great Room.  Guitar lick books are interspersed with my magazines and one or two guitars are always propped against the couch or loveseat, ready for a moment of inspiration or boredom.  I will admit now - in print - that there is something about this that I like.  Even if he's not here, it reminds me that he HAS been here and that this is where my husband takes his shoes off and brushes his teeth.  Yes, I drive him crazy picking up and dusting and arranging things, correcting the angle of a bumped picture frame (shut up.  i know) but in the end, I'll trade a little lack of control; a little transparency, a little bit of "cute" for a whole lot of "good".  All that being said, he has tried to give as well.  Little things go a long way in making a girlie girl happy... and he says he loves to see me happy.

In February we adopted a fourth furry child.  Yes, all of our children are four legged and furry, but this works for us right now.  We adopted Captain Snuggles, a one-eyed, long-haired, black and white rescue cat with a perfectly pink nose and paw pads, who is recovering from a serious over-eating problem.  We are told that one year ago she was 23lbs.  Now, thanks to a "structured home life" she is a comfortable 15.  We're trying to stay there, although we are confident that she plots a cruel end to us every time we eat in front of her.  Captain Snuggles is stretched out on the loveseat beside Dach Holiday and I.  She is very kind to let us live in her house.

Amsterdam, James' dog, is still precious and wonderful and good in every way, although she did go through a nervous bathroom thing for a few weeks after we left her for vacation.  Other than that, she has been such a good girl.  She's lying beside the couch while James shoots stuff on the TV, xbox style.

We almost lost Belfry the Church Cat this year.  His Diabetes nearly got him in January and then in June he was diagnosed with Feline Mega-Colon and we were told that this will probably be the end of him.  Now, thankfully, his sugar is nearly under control.  He only needs about 1/2 unit of insulin every couple of days.  I spot check him with a veterinary glucometer once or twice a week.  The mega-colon is more trouble.  I have to mix up a tablespoon of canned pumpkin and a 1/2 tsp. of Mirilax with his food and give him 1ml of Cisopride (which I'm probably misspelling) to cause his colon to contract and send the bad stuff out.  This is a lot of work, but thankfully not too expensive at this point.  I have learned to treat him at home for much of this, and don't have to take him to the vet very often.  When he feels good and everything is in check, you would think he was a young cat, perfectly healthy and happy.

I'm going to sign off and have some more fun browsing around my new laptop.  This was the perfect gift from my sweet husband.  I'll "talk" to you guys soon, I hope.  Who all is still out there?  Did everyone switch to Facebook?  Well, I'm there too.  :)  Night.

I've heard of Baby Blues, but who's heard of Wedding Blues?  Until today, I hadn't.  Now I know there's such a thing, because I have them.  The wedding is bumming me out; not the getting married part, but the wedding itself.  We should have eloped.