Still kicking

Hi there, Yes I'm still alive and kicking.  I spent like, 3 weeks coughing up green stuff with a nasty virus.  Only to almost recover from that and then get a stomach virus.  Wohoo. (not)

So I've been hanging out at home a lot, nursing my sick body and drinking lots of water.  I was supposed to start my new internship at ICA (a grocery store) yesterday, but obviously that didn't happen, so I'll start next week instead.   I will continue to have my internship at the grooming salon, ICA will be in addition to that.  I decided to pursue this second internship for two reasons:  

1.) I am spending WAY too much time home alone, staring at the wall and feeling like crap.
2.) At ICA there is the possibility of future employment.  Something Jyckelyckan doesn't have the means to offer me.

So now I'll have more to do, get out of the apartment more, and hopefully will find an actual PAYING job in the future.

Today is Halloween and I don't have a pumpkin.  I think this is the first time... ever... that I don't have a pumpkin for Halloween.  :(  But I don't dare go to the store to get one when I've been paying homage to the porcelain goddess like I have been.  Though I haven't puked sense last night, it wouldn't be very nice if someone went to the store to get milk, and came home with the pukey disease.  So me and my puke bucket, we're going to chill and be bored tonight, like the loosers we are.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Love,
Mango Kitty

Setting up

So I'm almost done setting up the apartment.  Here are some pictures of how it looks,  there is still some stuff to hang, and then another good deep clean and it should be good to go.

Here's the Kitchen:

The Bathroom:

Two shots of the Livingroom/Bedroom:

 

And my very ugly Hall:

It's cozy but lonely. 

I'm going to bed.

Love,
Mango Kitty

Life changed

Sorry I haven't posted in so long, life's been changing a lot.  I've (singular) moved away from the Smålandsstenar apartment to a little place in the same town as my internship.  It's hard but necessary.  Mi-Go will stay with the Viking,  and Indi is not doing well at Ammi's so she is most likely going to heaven where she won't feel badly anymore.  As for me, I find myself living alone for the first time in probably a decade.  It's weird, and I don't have Internet yet, so it's been very quiet.  I've been listening to a lot of music and have been reading a bit.  My friends have stepped up like crazy and have been amazingly kind and supportive.  I'm lucky to have this kind of support.  

Tomorrow I work, and then Smulan is going to help me hang some pictures and a mirror and such. I'll try to get some pictures up when everything is out together.  For now it's Nirvana by candlelight and trying to finely get some sleep.

Love,

Mango Kitty

Leonberger Love

Yesterday was a great Leonberger filled day in Helsingborg and Halmstad.  First there was a dog show at a palace in Helsingborg.  It rained the whole freaking day, and I ended up in a wrestling match with Honney that got me covered in mud and tore my pants, but it was still fun.  We met some very nice people and the palace gardens were unbelievably beautiful.  In the way back from the dog show we stopped by the kennel on Halmstad so I got to hang out with my boy Cesar.  We were gone for over 12 hours but it was totally worth it!

Today it's been the couch dealing with lots if pain and stiffness, but it was expected.  

Also, I have started hanging flyers looking for a band! 

Love,

Mango Kitty

Analyzing

Ever hear of a "Hair Mineral Analysis?"  It's this neat thing that lab technicians do where they take a sample of your hair, and use it to find out what vitamins and minerals you need more of, or have too much of.  Why is this relevant you may ask?  Because I'm waiting for the results of one, that's why!

My viking and I have been meeting with a nutritionist, who has been wonderful.  She is the one who told me about hair mineral analysis.  You see, she has Fibromyalgia.  She suffered with it for 30something years, then did a hair mineral analysis.  She adjusted how she ate, following the guidelines from the test, and started taking supplements to balance out her system.  She has been PAIN FREE SENSE 2006!!!!!!

I cant tell you how hopeful this has made me about my OWN pain.  The idea that I could wake up and not be in pain, that I could go to bed and not be in pain, that I could EXIST AND NOT BE IN PAIN!  It's beyond exciting.  This is something that could literally change my life.... How often do you get to say that? In a few weeks the results will be in, and I'll sit down with the woman who took the test and go threw my results, she advise me on how to eat differently based on my profile, and we'll see about getting me some supplements. Miss Mango is excited!!!  Yay!!!

Now I'm off to nom some dinner.

Love,

Mango Kitty

Pukey McGee

So I've caught a stomach bug and it SUCKS X(  Woke up at 1am to puke, and have been puking ever sense.  I was going to post a picture of my puke bucket, but then I decided that it was too gross, so you guys are spared.  You're welcome.  So far my Viking has been spared, thankfully.  Hopefully this will pass soon!

On a much lighter note, looks like me and said Viking will be heading home stateside for Thanksgiving this year!  Woohoo!  We're super excited to see everyone, and it should be fun for my Viking to experience an "authentic American thanksgiving".  (Because the one we throw every year in Sweden is only half authentic, apparently)  Anyway its going to be great :)

If you'll excuse me, I have to wrap this up because I need to vomit.  Again.

Love,
Mango Kitty

Learning experience

Today I met a professional dog trainer/dog psychologist with some Leonberger friends of mine.  She was amazing.  So fascinating to watch her work and I learned a lot, both about dog and human nature, and how we influence reactions in each other.  She was also incredibly nice, and gave me her number saying if I need help with my own dog training journey I can call her any time and she'll be happy to talk me threw whatever I'm having trouble with.  SCORE!  These are the kind of contacts I need in my arsenal.  Super psyched after a great day!

I've ordered my first book for my dog training course,  the first class is first response/first aid for dogs, which is going to be really interesting and so valuable.  I was going to go with a Kindle book but then Dad reminded me of the importance of having the actual book so that I can make notes, book mark pages, and have it as permanent reference material, so I went with the real deal and will go with the real deal for the rest of the courses.  I start on Monday and could not be any more excited!!!

In other news, I'm coming home for Thanksgiving!  w00t!!!

Love,
Mango Kitty

new hair

I had a bad day yesterday. A real bad day.  So what did I do?  I cut my hair!

  

Pretty pleased with how it came out actually, and it kept me from being stupid and doing stupid things.  So yay.  

 

Our grumpy old neighbor is at it again.  Complaining about where my Vikings bicycle  is parked (even though we've gotten confirmation from our landlord that it's prefectly fine to have it there.) and that we're "trashing up" the apartment complex.  Whatever old man, if anyone is trashing up the apartment complex it's your half naked drunken ass.  (No mom, I didn't actually say that to him)

Alright I'm getting all worked up again, time to round this off.  Go to your happy place Miss Mango, happy happy... happy happy...

Love,

Mango Kitty

Into the woods...

...to GROWL!!!

My friend got me in contact with a guitar player here in Salamanderland who is interested in jamming and hopefully putting together a band!  Suuuuuper exciting!  But sense we have the worlds most ridiculous neighbor, it's not like I can really practice growling at home.  Because we're 98% sure he will complain.  And I just don't feel like dealing with him.  So I will be going out into the woods to practice.  I haven't sung seriously for quite some time, so I need to train the old jaw trap before I meet this guy in a few weeks!

In other news I'm going to a dog show tomorrow with Marina and two of her Leonbergers in a town called Ronneby.  We'll be leaving at 06.30, and how well the dogs show will determine when we'll get home.  If they show poorly, we'll be home sooner.  If they show well, it will be later.  We're hoping for later ;)

We visited Indi today, she really likes it at Ammi's.  It's easy to see how much more confident and comfortable she is there, and she loves loves loves Ammi, so we're hopeful that this will become a permanent arrangement for her sake.  (and for ours) but we miss our Flufferella.  Mi-Go is doing well, he doesn't really look for her anymore, he's also grown more confident, and is claiming his space more and more.  Also, he wants to be in my lap ALL THE TIME.  Which is cute, except for when I'm actually trying to get something accomplished.  Then it's annoying.  Which means it's way more fun for him!  Speaking of cats, a neighborhood cat was very kind and left me a present in my garden, a nice fat dead mouse.  Thanks anonymous kitty!

Time to take my lyric book into the woods to practice.  Happy weekend everyone!

Love,
Mango Kitty

Almost August

Indi continues to do well at Ammi's, I saw her today, and she seemed to be quite happy to see me, very cuddly and vocal.  Apparently she made it threw her first night unscathed, and continues to investigate and claim her new space.  Good news indeed!  But we miss her, a lot.  Mi-Go still goes around looking for her... Such is the way of things.

Tomorrow it is August.  Holy hell July has gone fast!  August will be a good month, I've decided.  I start work at the grooming salon again Friday, which will be great to start having more things to do again.  I'll start training Hubba again next week most likely, and will hopefully start training that Tibetan Terrier again soon as well.  This month will be full of being healthy and active.  (But not TOO active, I haven't forgotten about the balance :P )  Doing the things I love and preparing for a future full of awesome.  I'm rather optimistic about most things in my life right now.  It's pretty great :)

Hope you're all having a great day!

Love,
Mango Kitty

Re-homing Indi

So his morning Indi moved in with my Viking's mother for a trial period.  Hopefully everything will work out great so it will become a permanent arrangement.  It's really depressing not having her here, but it is the right thing to do.  She wasn't happy sharing a home with another cat, she was constantly hissing, growling, and swatting at Mi-Go,  she stopped playing and cuddling as much, and was generally very stressed.  So this morning we moved all of her things over to Ammi's, including a cat tree, her special pillow, litter box, food and water bowls, scratching pad and toys.  Then it was a quick drive with her (Those of you who know how close we live to Ammi know it was a VERY quick drive!) and then she was thrown into her new environment.  We expected her to hiss a bit, and probably hide, but that wasn't the case at all!

She was out of the box in a shot, but didn't go and hide, instead she thoroughly inspected all of the rooms available to her, jumped up on things, rubbed against things, sniffed things.  She was very very brave!  She was skittish and stressed, but her tale was up and she kept coming back to us for cuddles in between her exploring her new surroundings.  After about 15 minutes we left, so that she could get a bit more acclimated without us there.  So far she's peed in her litter box, eaten, laid down to rest, and done some more exploring.  We're very proud of our Flufferella!

Mi-Go is confused by the change.  What amazes me is that no matter how mean Indi was to him, he still adored her, and just wanted to be friends.  He's been walking around the apartment looking for her, and meowing sadly.  It will take time, hopefully he won't become too depressed.  Lots of cuddles and play and it should be fine.

Sure does feel empty around here without her though...

Love,
Mango Kitty

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!

birthday song!
It's been a good day, I woke up to this ^
Had epic cake,

 That was significantly more epic in real life, (and yuuuuuummy!)
Got some great gifts, had some good friends over, and got Pizza for dinner.  Sweet!

I can't believe I'm 28... I feel like such an old fart!  Ah well, such is the progression of life.

To everyone who has made these 28 years possible/enjoyable/worth it I LOVE YOU!!!

Love,
Mango Kitty

Lion-Dogs

Last week I went to a dog show with my friend Marina who I work with.  She has three Leonbergers, and she showed 2 of them, Hunney and Bobbo.  I went with her as "crew".  This is what a Leonberger looks like. They are NOT little dogs!

Anyhoo, the dogs showed great,  I was in charge of keeping them, (and Marina) calm and happy and cool (it was very warm) by providing shade, cold water blanket soaks, and a bit of love.  Marina said I did so well that she is "claiming" me as crew for all of her future dogshows forever!  She even bought me a gift because I did so good!

I love dogs.  I love their attitudes, their personalities, I love observing them, interacting with them, I even love the way they stink!  The make me calm, happy, and confident.  They are what my future career will be.  I am going to be a professional dog trainer.  It's decided.  End of story!
I'm investigating getting an on-line degree in dog training.  The course includes book learning, tests, and lectures, but also hands on work with dogs, which you video record and send into the teachers so they see what you are doing and can advise you based on that.  I have about 15 dogs available for me to train on threw my friends and work.  I'm really excited about this, and am pretty sure I'm going to do it!  Yay!  I'm going to end up with an education after all! :P

Now I'm going to go spend some quality time with Indi while I can...  She's gotten so aggressive toward Mi-Go that it's come to the point where we have to re-home her. We don't know where yet, but once we find a good home for her, she's going to move.  We are all very very sad about this, but we have to do what is right for her and she is incredibly unhappy sharing a home with another cat :(

Love,
Mango Kitty

Garden!

So our back patio I really coming to life!  We have a rosebush

Raspberries, peas, and Wilma the tomato plant

Some flowers including three sunflowers and some herbs, I'm growing my own catnip, and today I planted some pumpkin seeds as well. 

I love it out there, it's so calm and wonderful.  It's so much fun to grow your own things!  Right now we have a bench, three chairs and a little table as well, so we can have people over to sit out there, which makes me happy.   

And out front we have some more flowers and some wild strawberries! 

My thumb, it be green :)

Love,

Mango Kitty

Visit from the Moms!

We had a GREAT visit from my Moms this week!

They built us a screen door which is full of awesome 

We had fika with Anna and Molly, and they came with me to meet Hubba and family.  We went out to dinner and took some nice walks.  Ima was extra brave and even held one of my Vikings sisters giant snails! 

It was a perfect visit,  I couldn't ask for better Mom's... the only thing I would change next time is I would make them stay longer!  They left early this morning and I miss them already 

Love,

Mango Kitty

Brain Cake!

For Midsommar this year my Vikings sister made a brain cake!

It was full of gluten so I didn't get to try it, but the verdict was an overwhelming "yum!"

In other news, I have a new dog training client!  It's a Tibetan Terrier, the breed looks like this and comes in many different colors.

He was supposed to come with his owner for his first session today, but she canceled, blaming it on "disgusting weather"  I really don't know what she's talking about because it isn't raining, blowing hard, or thundering.  It is ultimately her dog and her decision however it's MY time and I am slightly annoyed and very disappointed.  Ah well, she said she would come tomorrow if it isn't raining.  So hold your thumbs for sunshine!  (If it is still her version of "disgusting weather" then I may tell the cats to suck it up and have the training session inside.  But we'll see)
    Tibetan Terriers are really neat,  they aren't true terriers, they only have the name.  They were bred by Tibetan Monks 2000 years ago and have remained purebred for the entirety of the breed.  Traditionally they were never sold, but given as gifts of gratitude and good fortune.  To sell a Tibetan Terrier was considered extremely bad luck not only for the individual selling it but for the entire village!  It should be fun getting to work with this one, as he's only 9 months and completely untrained...

Wish me luck!

Love,
Mango Kitty

P.S.  In a week, my Moms will be here in Sweden!!!!

Sunny Sweden

I'd like to start todays post out with a greeting from Hubba.  He says "woof".

 It's beautiful here in Sweden.  The sun in shining and there are babies EVERYWHERE!  

Friday is Midsommar,  a time to eat potatoes and pickled haring, (which I will in fact NOT be eating, because it's gross) and to gorge ones self on Swedish Strawberries, which are just about the most delicious things on this planet.  Don't believe me?  Come to Sweden.  I'll show you what's what.

I'm counting down the days until my Moms come... 1 week 6 days!  Holy fun!!!!!!!!  I can't wait can't wait CAN'T WAIT!  Shall be full of the awesome :D

Also, I'm joining a gym.  

Love,

Mango Kitty

::insert clever title here::

Miss Mango's cleverness has left the building folks...

So instead I'll give you a recap of my week.  Except there's not that much to report.  I was free from work this week, which sucked.  Though I did do some socialization training with Hubba on Thursday.  Boy was it intense, he got waaaaay worked up, and forgot everything we had been working on.  After the first 30min-1hour he started listening again, but it was hard to keep my cool until then.  Towards the end of the day he relaxed a bit and we got some ice cream and just chilled in the grass.

Yesterday my Viking and I were supposed to have another couple over for a double date,  it was going to be super fun.  But then they got sick, complete with vomiting and fever, so they obviously canceled.  Bummer!  But Anna and Molly saved the day by inviting us to go to the lake with them.  Very fun!  We haven't seen them in quite a while, Molly is getting SO BIG! 

And today I'm going to a BBQ party with my DBT girls, should be super fun.

Hm... I'm hearing odd noises from the hallway, better check what the cats are up to...


Love,
Mango Kitty

Roller Coaster Thursday

So yesterday started out with a phone call from the insurance agency regarding my application for additional money towards food, since I am both Gluten and Lactose intolerant and that shit be expensive.  She had a million questions that seemed to be unrelated to my food allergies but well well, she was nice at least, but boy was it stressful!  Afterwards I was quite proud of myself so I figured I would continue the winning streak by calling my therapist and informing her that I am in fact ready for a part time job!  However that did not go as well...


She quickly shot down the idea, saying that when I feel good I want to do a lot of things, and in the past it has become too much and I crash.  I really don't think that would be the case this time as I have been so much more careful about my activities and finding balance in what I do.  Disappointing conversation with my therapist = Miss Mango has a sad.  Oh well...  She said that she wants me to increase what I'm already doing instead, building back up my hours at my internship, and possibly training Hubba two times a week instead of one.

In the afternoon I went to train Hubba, and it went really well, sending my mood back up!  I even got a kiss from Vilda!



A bit of a roller coaster day for Miss Mango, but Hubba, Vilda, and Max made it a good day in the end :)

Love,
Mango Kitty

Total Yarnige

So Sunday morning, I woke up at 4am.  What to do, what to do?  Why not initiate operation "Total Yarnige"?  So that's what I did.  See how long till I get sick of it and change my hair up yet again.

Life is cruising along, still battling with pain, but cutting down my work hours seems to have helped a bit.

On Saturday we celebrated my father in law turning 60.  What an occasion to celebrate!  Good food, good company, and a very happy man.

Also this:  (for my sisters)





Love,
Mango Kitty

Sillyness

I woke up a bit too early and am filled with sillyness!  MUSTACHIO!!!!!

Love, 

Mango Kitty

Homesick

Days like today, when I'm home alone and in pain, I so wish I could go home stateside.  Just for a little while.  I miss my crazy family...

 

There is hope!

     So I love my internship.  I LOVE my internship.  But my fibromyalgia has been getting worse and worse sense I started there.  To the point where I have missed work and been unable to function regularly.  After discussing it with my new physical therapist and my regular therapist, it was decided that I would need to find a new internship due to physical limitations :(
     So this morning I told my boss that although I have never felt so at home in a work environment, I don't know how long I will be able to continue working there.  A little while later, the man who arranged for my internship at Jyckelyckan arrived, and we had a meeting with my boss.  She said that she doesn't want to loose me as an intern, and is willing to adjust my responsibilities so that I can remain there!  :)
     So we've cut my hours so I just work one day a week, I will no longer be bathing dogs, but will help with drying and brushing sense I can do it while sitting down.  They are also going to look into if there is secretarial work that I can do for them.  They also made it very clear that on days when I have a lot of pain, I am to come into work purely to hang out with them and cuddle with the dogs, NOT to feel like I have to complete all of my tasks when I physically am not able to.

     A nicer boss than mine, can not be found. <3

Love,
Mango Kitty

Anniversay!

Happy Anniversary to me and my Viking!  6 years... can you believe it?  I can hardly believe it myself!  If someone asked me 7 1/2 years ago what my life would be like, I would most certainly NOT answer that I will be married and living in Sweden!  But honestly, I'm glad I am.  I am so privileged to get to spend the rest of my life with my Viking, he is amazingly wonderful to me.  Ever supportive, loving, and full of hugs :)  This morning he even picked me flowers!!!

::sigh::  Love is wonderful!!!

Love,
Mango Kitty

Kitty hat

Stranded on the couch in terrible pain. My only joy is my kitty hat...

Long day!

Yesterday was a long day,  I had living support in the morning, and then spent 4 1/2 HOURS grooming Hubba at the salon!  (I usually work 3 hours so it was a bit of a difference!)  Besides the fact that he peed EVERYWHERE he did rather well, he's such a sweet dog, he just gets waaaaay too excited when stuff goes on around him!  Guess it's time to introduce the "Settle" command.  (a command that makes the dog calm himself down no matter what the situation is.  SUCH A GOOD COMMAND TO HAVE IN YOUR ARSENAL DOG OWNERS!!!)

Anyhoo, here's the before:

During:

and After, What a handsome boy!:

and here is just some of what we took off of him!:

Maria and Robban were super pleased, as was I.  So all in all a good but LONG day!

Love,
Mango Kitty

Well and truly hung

Yesterday me and Maria went flower shopping! I got a raspberry bush, two miniature roses, and tree other flowers that I forget the name of.

After I trained Hubba she and Robban drive me home and helped hang up my new guitar so now I don't have to keep it in the closet! Woohoo!

Today I am grooming Hubba at work, Expect before and after pictures!

Love,
Mango Kitty

New addition

Check out my new baby!

I'm slowly learning how to play, it's super fun.  So happy I finely have a guitar! 

Love,
Mango Kitty

usch...

Today was a good but tiring day.  I bathed three Saluki's:

a Tysk Jaktterrier (German Hunt Dog):

and brushed out a Japanese Spitz:

in 3 Hours.  I am TIRED!!!

off to the couch for some bad TV.

Love,
Mango Kitty

P.S. Following the attack in Boston, I am relieved to report that my family in that area is safe, and unharmed. 

What a week

I've had quite the week last week.  My Vikings grandfathers funeral was on Tuesday, I worked Wednesday, trained Hubba Thursday, worked Friday, went to a party Saturday, and saw my Contact Person Sunday.  Today it's Laundry and lounging around in Sweat pants for recovery, before I have another full packed week again!  It's wonderful to have so much positive, non mental health related stuff to do!  But boy am I BEAT by the end of the day! 

My first training session with Hubba was on Thursday, and it went really well.  He is  SMART dog, and while we have A LOT of work to do, he already understands the fundamentals of clicker training and I am very hopeful that he will turn into the fantastic show dog he has every potential of being!

Saturday I went to a party with some of the girls in my DBT group, it was so fun!  We ate tacos, played games, and then went out to a fake Irish bar and laughed like the maniacs we are :P  I can't wait to do it again!

In celebration of me going to a party (those who know me know that doesn't happen so often)  I decided to play with some clip in extensions.  Here is the result:

I think it is now official that I am now growing out my hair :)


Also today Mi-Go went outside!  On a leash of coarse,  but it was his first time and he did GREAT!  My viking has had a much harder time accepting the fact that our little man is ready to go outside, he has been saying for weeks "I'm not ready for him to go out!  Can't we wait a little while longer???"  But today I got the all clear so armed with a leash and lots of cat candy we ventured into the big scary world of the backyard.  Mi-Go did better than my Viking did, who eventually started tapping on the window to signal he wanted me to bring Mi-Go back inside!  Hehe, silly Viking.  Thankfully it's supposed to be beautiful all week so there are many more outdoor adventures in store for Mr. Mi-Go!

Love,
Mango Kitty

Good day!

What a good day I've had! I went to visit two good friends and their dogs Vilda and Hubba. I am officially going to be Hubba's handler at dog shows! I'm super psyched about this, it's going to be so much fun! I'll be going there once a week to work with him threw out the summer, and our goal is to start doing dogshows in the fall. Hubba is so sweet and absolutely gorgeous so I know he will show well, and we start already on thursday! Yay!

Now I have to try to get some sleep, got a long day ahead of me tomorrow.

Love,
Mango Kitty

Rolling along

Life keeps rolling along ofter the death of a family member, it's a balancing act between allowing yourself the time to grieve and jumping back on the horse.  The world doesn't stop because a loved one goes away, and I know he would want me to continue to be active and keep doing the things I'm doing in my life.

Having said that...

Yesterday I had a meeting at my internship to see if I'd be allowed to stay there.  I was rather nervous but it went SUPER well!  Not only do I continue to get to work there threw the fall, but they doubled my shifts! (which is what I wanted) So now I'll be working both Mondays and Wednesdays.  In addition to my current responsibilities of bathing, brushing, and nail trims, their going to teach me register work, and doing some simple dog haircuts as well!  I'm super psyched, and cant wait to go to work tomorrow!

In addition to this, I'm friends with a wonderful couple who is interested in showing one of their Finnish Laphunds, here is an example of the breed.

They are not however interested in going into the ring with Hubba (that's the dog's name, isn't it cute?)  and they asked ME if I'd like to be his handler at dog shows!  I of coarse am SO up for the challenge and I'm going out there on Monday  talk threw the details and work with him for a little bit to see what kind of connection I can get with him but I am VERY hopeful, sense Hubba and I already have a good relationship and I absolutely ADORE this dog.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Love,
Mango Kitty

Pineapples...

On Wednesday morning we got the call that my Vikings grandfather passed away after a long and painful battle with his failing body.  In the end he slipped away while asleep, with his wife at his side.  It's all we could have hoped for for him. 

He was an incredible man, funny, intelligent, and fiercely stubborn.  Even though I've only known him sense I came to Sweden 6 years ago, I am filled with wonderful memories.  The first time I met him he proudly showed off the only English phrase he knew, which was how to order a beer.  Every Christmas he gave me a pineapple.  No one knows why, he just did, and I loved it.  He was always eager to talk American politics, sports, and news.  He openly accepted me, even with all my  problems and quirks.  I cared for him deeply, and I'm going to miss him a lot.  I'm also going to miss the pineapples...

Love,
Mango Kitty

Horses!

Today my contact person took me out to go chill with some Icelandic horses, and it was great!  especially when you consider the fact that I haven't been able to get hands on with a horse in 10 YEARS.  Craziness.  They are so cool, quite small but sooo much personality! 

There was also a miniature horse there, that was all attitude and kept sneaking away to the bags of grain :P

All in all a great way to start the week!
love,
Mango Kitty

The Grand Tour

Sorry for the crappy video quality, here is our new home!!!

All and all we are pleased, plus it's CHEAPER than our last place!

Love,
Mango Kitty

We survived!

        We are officially moved in!  Hazzah!  There's still a few boxes that don't have homes yet, but the vast majority is all put away!  Today our Living Support contact came and took away all the broken down boxes in our storage room, so we have room in our storage room again!  And my wonderful dear friends came with their little boy (who's name is Max by the way :P) and helped hang a bunch of pictures, shelves, curtains and the big metal sun we got from Ima forever ago but have never managed to put it up before :)  I will try to get pictures (or maybe if you're lucky a video!) up tomorrow. 

       The cat's are doing brilliantly,  This move is going sooooo much better than the last one for them!  The first couple of days they were going around growling and hissing at us, each other, and at nothing... But after 3 or 4 days they were PLAYING, they were on the couch TOGETHER, on the cat trees TOGETHER, in bed TOGETHER!!!  Those who remember the chaos of the last move know how amazing this is.  Last time we moved Indi freaked right the fuck out and started attacking Mi-Go, we often had to keep them in separate rooms, and we even had a veterinarian say we would need to get rid of one.  Obviously we didn't, but it took over three months to restore some peace in the home.  NOT the case this time.  She still bitch-slaps him some in the mornings, but really, who is in a good mood first thing in the morning?  Not I!

We are so great-full for all the help we've gotten in this move.  Nils' mom took two days off of work to help with the move, and cleaning the old apartment, his dad helped shuffle boxes on moving day, and his sister even came down for a week to help out! 

All and all we are very happy.  The only issue we've had so far is that our neighbor told Nils that we close our front door too loudly, so we have to close it quieter now lol.  Wonder how much that old man will like our moving in party!!!

Love,
Mango Kitty

Valentines Day

Today my Viking came home with a dozen red roses, and I meeeeelted all over again.  Oh I love my husband!  Hope everyone out there is having as great of a valentines day as I am!  Even with being sick!

Love Love Looooove,
Mango Kitty

Green Buggers of Doom

I am sick.  I do not approve of this.  I couldn't go into work yesterday, and today I had to cancel DBT and Physical Therapy because there was just no way I could do it.  Plus I really don't want to risk getting anyone else sick.  So today its me, a blanket, and tea becoming one with the couch.  Ug...

I really wish I had something funny and witty to say, but mostly I just feel awful.

Hopefully I'll be able to shake this soon,  I don't want to miss another day at work.  Plus we are moving in like two weeks, and I need to bring my A-game for that.  We are getting excited about the move though.  Even my Viking is on board with figuring out how we should do interior decorating and wiring so that I don't have to trip of cables EVERY FRICKING DAY like I do here.  It's pretty awesome, I really think we are going to like it there.  I know I for one am really going to enjoy NOT FALLING DOWN STAIRS.  Yea.... that'll be great...

Anyhoo, time for me to go blow my nose.  AGAIN.

Love,
Mango Kitty