Thursday, May 17, 2012

My Goodness My Guinness

It's a sad day in the Cook family, as we had to send our dear, sweat Guinness to kitty heaven today.

Guinness was my first baby.  She's been a great cat for me for the past 15 years.

I adopted her in 1997 from the Capital Area Humane Society in Lansing, Michigan when she was one-year-old.

I walked into the shelter and we just instantly bonded, I never even looked at another animal.  She came with the name Sabrina.  But seeing how I recently returned from England/Ireland, I decided she looked more like the color of Guinness beer, so it stuck.

Her story was that she at some point came from an abused home. I don't think she even came out from under my bed for the first week I brought her home.  But after time, she slowly made her way out, but for some reason, was only trustful of me.

Now with that said, I still couldn't even touch her with two hands at a time.  One hand only.

But she would climb on my chest each night and purr as I slept.

The last few months have been rough for my poor, old girl.  She has been having some kidney problems and developed a heart murmur.  On top of that, she at some point lost her hearing.  She's been a tough trooper, but you could start to see she was in pain.

I will miss her conversation - we used to talk back-and-forth often.  She had one of the most unique meows ever.  And when her stomach hurt, she made a noise like an alien was about to come out of her stomach.

She also was a big fan of a love bite.  When she really liked you, she would want to thank you for petting her, and would just bit your hand...and it would hurt like hell.  But, she loved you.

My hope is that she is now in kitty heaven with her brother, Bailey, who we lost earlier this year.  Hopefully the two of them are rolling around in catnip and getting into some good cat fights. 

RIP my sweet kitty girl.....

 

 

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Katie & Jimmy Get Married

Here are some of the photo highlights from the wedding of the year!

Chicago proved to be a great background and provided some perfect weather for the wedding.

In between the ceremony and reception we had a party trolly and drove around the city taking pictures.  It was a great idea and we had a blast! I cannot wait to see the official photographer pictures - because he was CRAZY!

One of the highlights - at least for me - were the boys.  My two boys and my two nephews were all in the wedding and wore adorable tuxedoes.  My sister bought them all Converse All Stars - and they were a hit...including trying to dance and make money from people in Millenium Park.

You know it was a good night when the bride said "it was perfect!"

And for those who haven't seen our surprise for the bride and groom.  Take a look - our family flashmob!

 

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

The amazing plastic mold machine!

One of my favorite memories of childhood is the smell of melted plastic.

Gross I know - but hear me out!

Field trips to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry always meant stopping to beg for a plastic mold! It didn't matter to me what they were shaped like - but I loved watching the machine spit out something it just made from melted plastic.

I was very excited to discover the machines at Tampa's Busch Gardens!!

Spring_Break_2012_camera_014.AVI Watch on Posterous

We got many of them in the park.  Not all, as some of the machines weren't working.

But on our recent Chicago trip, we were all excited ot find that the Museum of Science and Industry still had them!!!

Here's a look at some of our treasures.

Chicago in Pictures