I apologize for the abundance of crazy cat lady posts lately...
But.... here's one more for you!!
As most people know, there has been a feline related void in my life lately. Last weekend, I went for what I thought was a "just for fun" visit to the Winnipeg Humane Society. Check out this little cutie pie that I was so lucky to go home with! (THANK YOU NICOLAS!! xx)
It doesn't matter how great or awful my day is going– Christian the Lion makes me smile, laugh, and cry my eyes out every time I watch his story unfold. It really is one of the truest examples of how strong the bond of friendship and love can be.
His story journey is documented through a brilliant documentary and a book. Check youtube for more great versions of this beautiful boy.
This has been a really really rough week for me. I've started writing, then I deleted everything... just to start over and delete all over again. I wanted to make this blog post really special. Finding the words and photos to do so is proving to be too difficult right now. So, I'm going to make the special post at a later date, when I'm ready.
I lost my cat this week.
He wasn't just my cat though. He was the love of my life. My 18 year old baby boy... I always referred to him as my son, my child, love of my life, bestie, most handsome boy in the world- list goes on. He was my actual baby. B.J. (Buford Junior) entered my life on my 8th birthday, as a gift from my parents. I smothered him with so much love from the moment I laid eyes on him, and he smothered me just the same.
I have always been obsessed with kitties. My first obsession began with my first cat, Buford Sr., a very fat white cat (won second place at a fat cat contest held at The Bay). I thought he was my best friend, so when he died at 12 years old, I had little melt down. My parents thought the way to mend my broken heart was to get another kitty. Which is where B.J. came in. We went to look at kittens, and as soon as i saw him, there was no hesitation. I passed up the black, orange, calico kittens. I needed him. He was mostly white with a some black spots- I wanted him to be white like my first cat.
That's how we met. I needed and love him instantly. Funny how we can get so attached to little furballs so quickly and intensely. Some people don't understand the deep bond that can form with pets.... that's okay, people can think I am crazy. He was my world for many, many years though.
B. J. turned 18 in June, and his health began deteriorating earlier that year. In his younger years, he was once a very mobile, energized, agile cat that we referred to as, "The Boss of the Block". He was able to kick the butts of pesky neighbourhood cats. He used to jump into bed at night to snuggle, and was able to get into butter on the counter tops- I recognized this past year that my big softy was now gradually slowing down. He was eating less, and got quite thin. His bones jutted out so much I wondered if it hurt him to lay the way we used to on the couch for naps.
Monday night, I had a feeling in my gut that I needed to go home. I cut my cardio short (did 8 mins) and got home promptly to find a very tired boy. I ran an errand and came home to find him hiding under the bed. I picked him up, and he didn't look himself. I instantly felt panicked. He was very weak. He couldn't stand, his head was a little wobbly, and all he could do was lay down. I knew in this moment that I was losing him. I held him for a few hours, trying to comfort him. He wasn't getting better, he was worse. We have had hundreds of sleepovers, but our final sleepover was Monday night.
I held him all night long, I didn't let go of him for a even a moment. I guess I did in fact doze off for a few minutes that night, as I was woken at 6:30am to B.J. gasping for air. That was by far one of the hardest nights of my life so far. The hour that followed 6:30am, was the hardest hour. I won't go into detail. He struggled for over an hour, he couldn't quite fully let go. But the very moment I stepped out of my house and got into the car to take him to the vet, he took his final breath and died in my arms. Adele, Someone Like You was playing. Pure torture... yet I left it playing.
I returned to a house with all of my baby's things scattered around in their usual spots. His cat tent was still set up in the basement. His cat bed still was still in the living room next to the fire place and t.v.. His favourite blue brush sat next to his bed. His cutesy food and water dishes were still full. Both his litter boxes full.
Memories that I hadn't thought of in years rushed through me throughout the day. As i opened the backdoor I recalled countless days when i chased him when he was a kitten when he would sneak out of the house. I had to crawl under my neighbours deck every time to capture him. So many memory triggers this week.
That's all i have in me right now...... My nice, "special" post will come in time- with beautiful pics that I have captured over the years of my beautiful little B.J., the coolest, most loyal and lovable cat in the whole world.
Jeeeez.... I am so effing sad without him.
B..J. (Buford Junior) Adams • June 17, 1993- November 8, 2011
I love and miss you every day...
just a little ball of emotions now... bed time.
xobeeej
Generally speaking, when I have a ton of homework to do I occasionally
tend to binge on junk food for one night as both a reward for the work I'm
about to accomplish, and for the sugar filled energy rush that consumes my
body.
A few weeks ago, I went on a serious mission to find my new fave
candies!
I went to 7-11, Co-Op, Mac's, Shopper's and Wal-Mart (All within 15mins) to find this sweet treat that I often desire. It was
nowhere to be found. Disappointed, I settled on Sour Patch Kids and PB
M&M's.
I walked through the entrance of our school Monday morning– and there
they were. I squealed as the bright packaging caught my eye. Made my day.
Jolly Rancher Awesome Twosome's in Blue Raspberry Lemonade and Mango Strawberry is the package that I prefer to buy. You get two delicious flavours in one bite. The inside is sort of like a paste, similar consistency to Starburst. The outside shell is a little chewier, and is topped with sugar. Yum!
I have been in CreComm for nearly two months now, and I am really starting to realize how much media and social media has changed. I've also realized the way in which I consume it has changed over time as well.
We consume media in a variety of ways, so I thought it would be interesting to take a peak at some of our main media sources and examine some of the different ways we consume it today versus fifteen years ago.
RADIO:
As a child, I remember tuning in to the radio in my mom's old car, or listening to it on my AM/FM radio cassette player while on the go, or even in my bedroom I could tune in by turning my ghetto-blaster on. Today, of course we can still access the radio while driving in the car, but there are many other outlets that allow us to tune in to our favourite stations. We can listen online through the station's website, or on a smart phone. We now have access to iPods where radio access is available as well.
TELEVISION:
TV has come a long way as well! I remember thinking it was sweet to have cable; then at one point you could add on a few extra channels which allowed my family access to channels in the 50's. The quality of television has changed a lot too. I recall loving Saturday morning cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, Gem, and The Flinstones. Plus, the TV itself was nothing special. Today, consumers can purchase 54" plasma/flat screen. We have 100's of channels to choose from, with a wide selection of high definition channels. The difference in quality is huge. Also, people can now access television from their computer on the Internet, phone, tablets and so on.
MUSIC:
As mentioned earlier, cassette players, Walkmans and ghetto blasters!! I remember owning the Ace of Base cassette tape, and many of the Dance Mix tapes as well. We would grab our favourite cassette's, pop them in, and voila- a not so smooth sound, but nonetheless, we had music! I also remember when
discman's came out and c.d. players. So cool walking around with my little discman. We would download music to our computers and then constantly burn c.d.'s with our fave songs, and share with friends. Today, sure c.d. players are still around. Downloading music is still common and so is purchasing c.d.'s, but today the rage is using an iPod to listen on both large sound systems and stereos, as well as on the go with a set of headphone's for a walk or at the gym.
NEWSPAPERS:
I think that it has always been pretty standard that most people got newspapers delivered, or they'd walk down the block to a news stand and grab a paper for 75 cents. Newspapers today are still accessed through delivery and are still printed on paper. However, there is one massive change in the way we are able to access the news, and it is through the world wide web. Today we have access to countless number of online newspapers. We can access links to news stories from various web page's such as Twitter. In addition to computers, we can access the news from our smart phones, and tablets.
VIDEO GAMES:
Does anyone recall using Atari, Sega and the old school Nintendo? Amazing! I used to place those massive old cartridges in hoping it would work, often I'd have to remove it multiple times, blowing in it, desperately hoping that would do the trick. Today, we have access to online gaming, where we can interact with virtually anyone in the world. We are also spoiled with systems such as Nintendo Wii, xbox, and PlayStation. The old cartridges are now replaced with slim discs. These games are far more interactive and the picture is incredible. Others can access games from phones, iPads, tablets and such as well.
INTERNET:
I don't even recall having the Internet until I was in my teens. At that time I believe the connection was a lot slower. My family may have had dial-up too. I only accessed the Internet from home computer, or from my friends, and I vaguely recall only having a certain amount minutes online. Today, we pay for a simple plan, and access the web through wireless Internet as much as we like. The net is at our finger tips, as many pay extra to have access to it at all time through their smart phone's.
MOVIES:
VHS baby! I still have tons of VHS movies at home. We'd go down to Jumbo Video, Movie Village, and later, Roger's Video to rent a few VHS tapes at a time. Same thing with the video games, at times we'd have to blow in the machine to ensure no dust was in the way of movie night. I also remember the standard slow speed of fast forward and rewind. The quality has improved considerably as well, Disney movies are still some of my all time favourites; but we cannot help but recognize the amazing things being done in cartoons today. Hello Pixar? Or how about the 3D flicks that are all the rage. Today we can access movies that still cost a fee to rent but can be accessed from a convenient click from our home TV remote's. DVD players are also common, along with the more advanced Blu Ray player. The old school feel of making an event out of renting movies can still be accomplished with a trip to your local video store. We can download movies to our home computers and burn them to discs as well.
I hope you enjoy some of my comments on the way media is and was consumed both past and present! Feel free to share some of your own experiences and comments!
On that note, I am about to watch my PVR'd version of the Chainsaw Massacre.
Who would have thought Dan Aykroyd would save the day?
Last weekend I was part of a very special celebration at the Fort Garry Hotel. Congratulations to Adam and Michelle Chisick as they enter their new journey of wedded bliss!
The wedding was such a wonderful time, and everything was so gorgeous. Michelle has beautiful taste. It was apparent that she put a lot of effort into ensuring every detail was perfect.
My boyfriend and bunch of friends planned to get together to enjoy some pre-wedding cocktails while we waited for our limo to arrive. No drinking and driving! A limo made sense since there was so many of us, plus, it's fun when everyone's dressed up like pretty and handsome babes.
I am realizing that no matter what it is I'm doing, somewhere in the back of my mind, school always finds a way to poke at me. I was running a bit behind, but still wanted to make a quick pit stop on the way to grab a bottle of wine for my blog post.
I decided that white wine would be the best choice as I didn't want to have stained teeth all evening. Knowing that I was late, and pressed for time I headed to the fridge that holds a small selection of white wine bottles that are chilled and ready to serve. I wouldn't have had time to show up with a bottle at room temperature, chill it, and enjoy it before the limo's arrival. I scoured the rows of white over and over searching for a D. Feeling discouraged, and disappointed, I almost gave up on all hopes of finding D, and was about to choose an old favourite. Then, tucked away far in the corner I finally found D.... Yes please! Dan Aykroyd, I need you! Sitting there, lonely, on a shelf, his 2007 Sauvignon Blanc from Ontario, Canada, awaited me at an affordable price of $14.99
Dan Aykroyd was pretty good. Not sweet, but still fruity and easy to drink. Had a nice crisp finish too.
Wedding was so special. Spending my time with the people I love, making lasting memories, is exactly what life is about. Not to mention, my hunny looked incredible.
I allowed myself to invest some time to accomplish some serious lounging last week. Once the election was over with, I still worked hard so I could be a little ahead with assignments so I could just have a night to simply enjoy.
After munching on some delicious spaghetti that I made at Casa Cringan (my boyfriend's crib, also known as: Comfy Land), we felt it would probably be a good time to grab a bottle of vino and just relax. We headed over to our neighbourhood MLCC at Grant Park Mall, and browsed the wine aisles for quite some time. I have a slight obsession with cupcakes, so when i perused the USA aisle and spotted Cupcake Red Velvet wine, there was no need to look any further. Not only is the winery called Cupcake, but Red Velvet cake is deadly!
Cupcake Red Velvet wine is from California and is a 2009 vintage. This wine is a very smooth tasting blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Cupcake Red Velvet is delicious. It starts off fruity and sweet with strong notes of blackberry, strawberry, and raspberry along with a very obvious mocha and vanilla flavour. It also has a slightly spicy taste to it as well, but not overwhelming whatsoever.This wine is not heavy at all, and has a clean, soft, dry finish. I highly recommend this wine to someone who doesn't have a lot of experience drinking red wine. I'd also recommend this wine to those who prefer red wine because this is without a doubt, a very tasty and unique tasting wine. The name describes it perfectly, you absolutely feel like you're eating dessert. Great to share with friends, or someone special with dinner, dessert or all by itself!
While sipping this California wine, we happened to stumble upon the flick Sideways, which was all too fitting and perfect. Sideways follows two men in their forties, who go on a week long road trip to Santa Barbara's Wine Country to celebrate Jack's final days as a bachelor to enjoy a few wine tastings. Along the way they consume way too much pinot noir, get involved in dramatic romances, and enter mid-life crises. It was a wonderful movie! I highly suggest curling up at home in your p.j.'s, maybe sip some wine and check this movie out. Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Sandra Oh, and Virginia Madsen make up this movie's all star cast.
Sooo... last weekend I drove out to the lake with Nick after watching the Bombers lose to the Als 32-26. Boooo. Some bad calls made by refs made it slightly irritating. Alex Brink was looking good out there. My Cheese Nip from Sals was tasting even better though!
We drove out to the lake around 10pm, and please don't judge...... we may have watched 2 hours of Jersey Shore- with popcorn.
The next morning, we woke up to sunny skies and comfortable weather. We walked out the front door to his beach, and discovered that Lake Winnipeg was the lowest it had been all year!! What a nice treat. We hadn't been able to walk on the sand once this summer, due to the high water levels. Generally, you stay off of your neighbours waterfront properties, but this day no one seemed to mind. It was October 1, the weather was beautiful, you could see the sand (and so much more)- so by all means let's enjoy the beach!
Despite the photos showcasing tons of rocks- there was a lot of sand too!! It was just interesting to see some of the dead plants, logs and rocks that have been hiding under water all summer!
After returning from our adventure we had a craving for one of summer faves: Dill Pickle Spitz. We figured we may as well go hit up the two local stores before dinner to satusfy our craving, and to start the letter B of my blog. So, off to the Beach Handi-Mart and to Ford's in Winnipeg Beach we went. I was aiming to select a red wine, but the selection at Ford's is a little slim. I spotted a bottle of white that I love, Brie Riesling, but found something better, or more appropriate. I found The Beach House. This was prefect considering it was supposed to be our final weekend at the lake. The Beach House is a Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon blend. It was affordable also, $10.49.
Dinner was almost ready when we arrived back at the cabin, so I figured I would begin my blog photoshoot with the sand, deck, water and my newly purchased bottle of wine.
