Now THAT'S what I need to hear 1 month before the wedding...

The past week has been quite eventful but I am happy to report that Thumbs is doing much, much better. She is still at the vet and Michael and I have been visiting her every other day. Each time she has been a little stronger and a little more playful. Today I went to visit and she actually purred the entire time I was in the exam room--it was great! I haven't heard her purr in so long! They told me at 1:30p today that they took her off "dialysis" 24 hours prior, so she is making it on her own at this point. I never knew the lazy girl had it in her to be such a fighter, but it really looks like she will be just fine and back to normal (at home) tomorrow! Thanks so much for the thoughts and prayers, I don't think I ever realized how much I cared for that furball until I almost lost her. :)

In other news, Michael and I left Friday morning to drive to Kansas City for Scott Kincaid's wedding. It was a full Catholic service so we spent most of the 1.5 hour ceremony very lost, but it was a beautiful service and very sentimental. :) The reception was held at the Carriage Club and was a blast. The band was fabulous and even Michael wouldn't get off of the dance floor. :) We tried the foxtrot when we thought no one was looking and I must say, we didn't do half bad! We shopped all day yesterday on the Plaza and decided that we could live in KC if we ever decide to leave Tulsa--it is a beautiful city and has so much to offer!

The drive home was tiring, but we were SO EXCITED that we had one day left of the weekend--we've decided there isn't anything more depressing than driving home on a Sunday afternoon. We have been desperately trying to catch up on "The Office" before Season 4 starts this week, so we watched several episodes of season 3 late last night. We finished the season today, which means we've watched 44 episodes in 1 week (season 2 and 3). I'm not sure if that should be bragging rights or reason to make us think about our lives, but regardless, we enjoyed it immensely.

We hit the one month mark and now we're at 27 days--can you believe it?! Less than 4 weeks and I'll be signing my name Meredith Haynes! I can't wait!!!

Pictures, a birthday, and poor thumbs magee

This post is going to be a bit difficult for me but this blog was created to account for all happenings leading up to the wedding, not just the good things. To start on a happy note...

I had my bridal portraits taken last Thursday at Philbrook Museum. They turned out really great. I had my makeup and hair trials before so it was nice to see it all together. The only sad part was that Michael could not participate in any of this!

Speaking of Michael, this past weekend he turned the grand old age of 25. We didn't do much since we have been going and going for the past few months. It was a beautiful day so we strolled through Utica Square and the Riverwalk and then ate at Doe's Eat Place for dinner. He received a lot of calls throughout the day from friends wishing him the happiest of birthdays. It was a great weekend indeed.

As for the sad news... Thumbs had not been eating for several days so I took her to the vet yesterday morning. He was afraid of liver problems (pretty prevalent in larger cats who stop eating) so he hooked her up to fluids and food and ran some blood tests. I called yesterday afternoon and they reported she was eating and doing well. I was thrilled with the news and was able to let the tear ducts rest for several hours. The tears returned, however, when I talked to the doctor last night. After briefly viewing her blood results, it appeared she was suffering from kidney failure. :( He made the decision to up the fluids even more and re-test her in the morning (today). I decided late last night to go visit her so Michael and I went to the vet around 9:30p. She looked great, seemed to be very active and vocal. They said she was doing really well and everything APPEARED to be great. It definitely helped me sleep better, but I don't know how many times I woke up last nite and expected her to be cuddled up next to me. My heart is so sad right now and I am continuously praying for better results today. She has been with me through the best and worst of times and has been such a trooper throughout our 3 years together. I'm not dealing with this well but Michael and my mom have been so helpful and encouraging. I know Michael's having a hard time with this too but he's been very strong for me. So if you wouldn't mind saying a little prayer for Thumbs, I know we'd both really appreciate it....

Why couldn't it have been a bird or a plane?

I might look back on this post one day and laugh, but I am going to make a very bold statement: Thumbs is just as difficult as a baby. A few examples:

1. I have to clean up her poop and pee
2. She wakes me up AT LEAST once every night, usually between the hours of 2-4a for her morning feeding. If I don't feed her, she cries until I do. And even when I DO feed her, she continues to need attention for the next 30 minutes.
3. She can't clean herself! I watched her attempt to do this today and she fell over. She requires "professional" cleaning every 3 months.
4. She doesn't play nicely with other animals, cats included. In fact, she downright hates them. Therefore, she must always be separated from anything that has paws. It is her way or the highway.

And the big whammy. The doctor asked that I put Thumbs in a secure place for the next several days so she would not hurt her paws by jumping on and off large things. As instructed, I put her litter box, food/ water, and (obviously) the cardboard lid in the shower of the guest bathroom and shut the glass doors. I receive a call from Michael at 11a and he asks why I shut Thumbs out of the shower. What? Turns out Thumbs is either (a) a pole-vaulter that doesn't need a pole, (b) Spiderman, or (c) a magician. She somehow got out of the shower. And what makes it borderline creepy is that the doors were still shut. What?! The glass doors are about 8 feet high and pretty difficult to move.

I wish that was the whole story but it looked like we'd walked in on a CSI set with all of the blood that was in the bathroom: counters, carpet, and door were covered. I didn't even know cats had that much blood IN them. :( Thumbs seemed to be ok once she was let out of the bathroom but her mom was being a typical mom and freaked out. I called the vet and they said, "oh... yea, that'll happen" so I guess it's more common than I thought. I did some research on blood stains and am going to pick up some hydrogen peroxide after work.

So, not only do I have a cat with extra phalanges, I have one that can either jump 8 ft or transport herself through glass doors. Long story short, my cat is better than yours (but sometimes I wish I had yours).


Not a fan of the paparazzi. Perhaps she IS spiderman...

What's up with these heart flutters?!

Michael and I have pronounced ourselves the Shower King and Queen. I am wearing a crown and a white sash as I type. No I'm not, but I would be much happier if I was.

Mom drove up on Friday and met us in Tulsa. After our session with Dr. Bill Buker, the 3 of us joined forces to drive to Coppell. The weather was less than pleasant and our trip did not begin until almost 6:30p. After a less than extraordinary dinner from McDonalds, we were on our way. The drive was non-eventful and Michael made great time. It was good to see his parents again and the 5 of us stayed up pretty late chatting.

Saturday I awoke to the smell of Phil's pancakes, which alone are worth a trip to Coppell. After breakfast, we returned a gift at Crate and Barrel and poked around the Galleria mall for a bit. We made sure to leave in plenty of time to change before the mom's shower at 2p.

It was beautiful! Craig's (Michael's best man) mom opened her house to all of us for the shower and it was so much fun. The flowers were beautiful, the cake was delicious, and all of the women made my mom and I feel right at home. I love southern hospitality! Michael and I were given several wonderful gifts and I was glad I was able to meet so many of the women who knew Michael when he was young. I heard several, "Before you knew Michael" stories and it was great. Turns out he has ALWAYS been nice and ALMOST ALWAYS been handsome. I guess he really did have one awkward stage, which lasted approximately 7 minutes. :)

After the shower, we picked up Phil and went back to Mi Cocina for round 2. Still a fantastic place, and still wishing it would consider opening a restaurant in Tulsa! After dinner, Linda, my mom and I made another dash to the Galleria in hopes of finding a rehearsal dinner dress for yours truly. I found several gorgeous dresses that did not look gorgeous on me. Oh well, I'm continuing to keep a lookout for the perfect dress!

Sunday was moving day! We picked up the U-Haul and loaded several pieces of Michael's furniture into the huge beast of a truck. The weather was PERFECT for moving: 95 degrees and felt like 115. Talk about a cheap sauna! After everything was loaded, the 3 of us took off in our 2 cars and followed each other until the roads diverged and mom took the one less traveled by (it indeed made all the difference).

Another great weekend!! The apartment actually looks furnished now and there aren't TOO many holes that need to be filled with stuff. We put all of our gifts away and I sat down at our new table and wrote thank-you notes. We're close enough to the wedding that I get little heart flutters occasionally when I think about it. I thought the heart flutters were reserved for Michael but I guess nerves can bring about them as well. :) Michael still seems to be as cool as a cucumber, so he is a good one to have around!

A bit of sad news: I took Thumbs into the vet on Monday morning to have her claws removed. Poor Thumbs. I never wanted to do this but with all of our new furniture it was pretty necessary. If she'd just keep her paws to herself we'd all be happy!! Michael and I are going to visit her tonight and then decide whether I am going to pick her up tomorrow or let her stay one more night at the vet. She is definitely a sick patient and will have to be watched pretty closely for the next week. To end on a lighter note, she has found a new home/toy that she loves: a box lid. As you can see, she is a little too large for it--Michael and I gave her her own "Thumbs-sized" lid but she prefers this one. If you look closely, you can see that the edge she is leaning on is about to break. Pooooor thumbs. :)

Busy Times!

I told a bold-faced lie in my last post--turns out this post WILL include the word "wedding." Please forgive me...

Michael and I received our test results from our marriage counselor on Friday and we passed (WITH flying colors... but I don't want to brag)! We had a great session and mentioned topics that we thought would be worth discussing in the upcoming sessions. We meet again tomorrow and I'm excited to delve into the blessings and controversies of a successful marriage. :)

We left for Grand Lake early Saturday morning. It was such a beautiful weekend! Michael and I have had continous bad luck with the weather at Grand and this weekend made up for the past failed attempts. There were 7 of us who made the trip and as expected, the lake was packed. We managed to go out to Dripping Springs where all of the "cool kids" hang out and it was Spring Break 2000 all over again. I might as well be 75-years-old with the way I felt about the scantily clad girls and the fratastic guys. As most of you know, I am NOT good at hiding my feelings on my face so the 10 girls I made eye-contact with were (I'm sure) happy to see us go. :) Monday was a bit overcast but with our skin having a nice red glow, we figured a day of rest would be in our best interest. We drove back to Tulsa Monday afternoon and spent the rest of the day organizing the apartment.

Tuesday was an exciting day--mom drove to Romance, Arkansas and mailed the invitations! She brought her friend with her and they had an enjoyable time. I'm thinking everyone should get their invitations today or tomorrow--woooohooo! I guess now we sit back and hope for positive responses (or responses at all)!

Continuing the week, I picked up my dress yesterday and it fit perfectly. She did a great job and I'm so excited to wear it next week for the bridal portraits! I really do understand that episode of "Friends" when all of the girls are sitting around in wedding dresses. It's going to be hard to have it hanging in my closet and not wear it on a random day. Watching television in a beautiful gown is much more fun than sweatpants and a t-shirt.

And my last bit of fun news--Michael and I put together our new dining table the other night (thank you mom and dad!) and had our first meal on it last nite. Jambalaya with chicken, corn bread, and a 2-layer cake for dessert. No need to start calling us Martha Stewart and Emeril just yet (wouldn't they make an odd couple?) but we had a great time in the kitchen and the product was delicious. Even Thumbs gave a few meows of approval.

Tonight is our first dance class at the church. By the end of September, we will be trotting like foxes. Honestly, I have no idea why it is called the Foxtrot, but I'm excited to learn it. Lucky for us, we do not have 3 judges giving us scores afterwards and letting us know in a stern British accent that it is our time to go.

We leave tomorrow for Coppell for our final wedding shower! We rented a U-Haul for Sunday to bring back several pieces of furniture fom Michael's house. I know Michael is a bit nervous about driving such a big truck, but I know he'll do a great job--he's fabulous with the Exploder!

44 days! HOOORAY!!