SAD NEWS...

I got bad news today. I have to stop fostering cats. Why you ask? Well, turns out that Victoria is most likely a carrier for 3 of 5 viruses she was checked for. It started this past weekend when she started drooling all over the place. I mean drooling like a st bernard drooling! I brought her in to the vet on Monday and they ended up sedating her to look in her throat to find the culprit for the saliva issues. He found that her tonsils were all swollen and she had bumps that looked like cobblestone in her throat. He wasn't sure what caused it so he sent in cultures and blood to be inspected. Both tests came back today and they found that she is the carrier for calicivirus, herpes, and microplasma. She may also have diabetes. The viruses all cause of upper respiratory infections which are very contageous. He highly recommended that I don't foster anymore because it'll put other cats/kittens, as well as Victoria, at risk. I talked with the Humane Society and they talked with the head vet and she said the same thing, unless I could keep everyone isolated from each other. That just isn't possible, especially with the active duty cats that I currently have. It wouldn't be fair to them to keep them isolated for more then a few weeks so they're working on finding a new foster home. Not sure when I'll bring them back, but I suspect it'll be fairly soon. : ( That just sucks. On a good note, I'll probably start fostering dogs. Not sure if I'll try greyhounds again or dogs from the shelter. Time will tell on that one.

At last, a pic of Tequi !

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So, her name is Tique...

I finally have the right name for the female active duty foster cat, it's Tique (Tiki). I emailed the owner and she got right back to me with lots of information about Tique and Josh. The parents are in Guam and she says it's beautiful but she misses her cats and is grateful the Humane Society does fostering for military men and women. I still don't have a picture of Tique because she doesn't come out much yet. I'm sure she will eventually, but until then, I'll keep laying on the floor and try to pet her while she's taking refuge under the futon. Josh has ventured out of the room a bit and has smacked Ditto through the baby gate. I imagine the first swat where he has his claws out, Ditto will learn not to mess with him! Victoria visits their room every day and is making friends.

Meet Josh, my active duty foster cat.

Looks a lot like Nash huh?! I picked up Josh and his sister Tequila Jean yesterday, these are the foster cats that I will have a while because their "people" got sent into active duty to Guam. Josh is a 14 pound linx point siamese and Jean is a 13 pound short hair black cat. She hasn't come out from under the futon yet so I wasn't able to get a picture of her. I am going to keep them isolated for a few days so they get acclimated to the dogs barking, other cats meowing, stuff like that. They still have their claws so I don't want them going postal on anyone either! Josh seems really sweet and has very soft fur. Wonder what TJ feels like!!

Valley of the Sun Half Marathon

I completed another half marathon yesterday. It was a great run but difficult. There were a few pretty good hills to climb and my body decided to fight back by cramping. I had to walk several times because of the stomach cramps but I still got my best time for a half yet! I finished in 2 hours and 16 seconds (2:00:16), that's over a minute faster then the Lost Dutchman run but I didn't have to walk in that one. I am disappointed about having to walk, but considering that I hadn't run since the Lost Dutchman run, I am pleased with my time. It was a beautiful run and I'm glad that I participated.

Nash

Meet Nash my new foster...

He Passed!!

This is my proud Ditto getting his graduation hat from our trainer Crystal. He passed his Canine Good Citizen exam last night after months of training and preparation. The exam is a pretty big deal and it's great that he passed. He had to pass 10 different tasks, including heeling, sit and stay, come, accept a stranger, sit politely when being petted, stand while being groomed, no reactions to distractions, and sit politely when meeting another dog. He doesn't do so well with meeting other dogs because he wants to meet them so bad, but he did really well last night. Now he is certified to be off leash in places like Phoenix if I so desire. Good job Ditto!

Bike Update

I tested out my new bike this past weekend. What a SWEET ride! It absorbs most of the small bumps and rides like a dream. I guess it was worth the money!

New Foster Cat...

I got a new foster cat yesterday. He's a 3 year old, 12 pound, linx point siamese. He came to me because he has an injured front leg that needs to heal. It doesn't look all that bad and I'll only have him for 2 weeks. He doesn't have a name yet but I'm working on it. He's very vocal like most siamese too! I'll post a picture as soon as my phone cooperates...

Funny Side Note: when I got to the Humane Society to pick him up, there was a homeless woman up near the front door and just as I pulled in, she dropped her drawers and pee'd all over the front entrance. I guess she was there to steal some of the donated cat/dog food because once she was done doing her business, she grabbed a bag of food and waddled off pulling up her pants. I-I-I !

Lost Dutchman Half Marathon

I ran the Lost Dutchman Half Marathon today. I wasn't doing very good all week when I'd try to train so I was concerned whether I'd be able to run the whole thing or not. My legs held out and I beat my PF Chang's time by about 3 minutes. I think that's pretty good considering that this run was really hilly. It didn't seem so hilly when I did it last year with my sister but I think that's because we walked it. It's all good though, I had a great time and finished strong.

My New Ride

I bought a new road bike the other day. It's an Orbea Diva and is going to be a SWEET ride! I only took it out for a 2 mile spin, but I was pleased with the responsiveness, handling, and smooth ride. I'm hoping to give it a good test this weekend and will keep you posted on whether it was worth the money, I sure hope it is!

Ski Trip Cont'd...

I'm happy to report that the ski trip got much better starting on Monday. I got my boot bag with all my gear and I was able to ski with my own stuff. The mornings started out pretty chilly, but warmed up nicely. I ski'd both Blackcomb and Whistler mountains and saw some beautiful sites and went down some great runs. Some of the blue runs were really steep and would be considered blacks at a lot of resorts. I only fell once and that was on day one when I was renting boots and trying out my new skis. The 2010 Winter Olympics are going to be Whistler and Blackcomb so we got to see some of the construction projects but they didn't affect our time on the mountain. Our trip back was uneventful and we made it home on time...YES!

Whistler ski trip woes...

What a nightmare so far! So, we take off for Vancouver at 6:45am on Saturday in hopes of being to our destination (Whistler Blackcomb Ski Mountain) by 7pm. Get into Denver a bit early and have a 2 hour layover until our flight to Vancouver. Then the board says its late by 3 hours. Ugh, but we'll still get to Whistler at a decent hour we think. 3 hours turned to 4 which turned to 5 which actually turned into the plane being 8.5 hours late and us in Denver airport for 11 hours! Get to Vancouver to find that my boot bag has been misplaced. Jesus, what next! Not only were my boots inside but all my other ski gear as well. Ski pants, socks, gloves, you name it. They said my bag had arrived in Vancouver but couldn't locate it. They will locate and deliver they say by the next morning. We have two buses leaving for Whistler, one to the condos and one to a 5 star hotel. I'm at the hotel. I get to the bus and they tell me the hotel overbooked by 46 rooms and we can't go to Whistler that night. What the fu+&?! They put us up in downtown Vancouver and we'll leave for Whistler the next morning, but not early enough to make first tracks. People are fuming mad. They feed us lousy pizza at midnight and we head to our rooms. Bags need to be ready for them to load by 6am, not much time for shut eye. Get up, get our sack breakfast and off we go. Get to the real hotel, check on my boots (they haven't found the bag yet), the rooms aren't ready. They truck us up and down a hallway 4 times and finally after over an hour we have rooms. Still no ski gear. I decide to rent and buy what I need so that the day isn't wasted. Some nice woman on the trip loans me gloves, I buy socks, neck warmer, etc and rent pants, helmet, and boots. The guy has no idea how to adjust my bindings and starts wrenching on my brand new never been ski'd bindings. I quickly stop him and tell him to either comp me skis or find boots big enough that he doesn't have to change my bindings...he gets bigger boots. Of course, they're a size bigger then I'd like but at least he's not wrecking my skis. Put on my rented ski pants and find a twenty spot in the pockets...sweet!, things are looking up! Head to the mountain and ski but its so bloody freezing I am only on the mounain a few hours. I call about my boots, still no progress. Get a voicemail later saying they'll be to the hotel by 7pm, great, no more rentals this week! 7pm comes and goes, still no boots. Its now Tuesday morning and I have no idea where my gear is. Sounds like an adventure so far, eh?!

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What's next...

What's the next adventure for me you may be wondering. Well, I will be skiing all next week in Canada. Should be a good time, eh?! After I get back, I have a couple more 1/2 marathons planned, as well as a century or two in the works. I will be riding in the Tour of Colorado in June so I really need to start training hills as much as possible. The Tour will have 6 days of riding and 38,000 feet of climbing...YIKES! I'm still not sure what I was thinking when I signed up for that one! I'm hoping to have a new bike before that ride but that'll depend on my tax refund. Other then just trying to get in shape and keep active, nothing new is on the horizon.

No foster cats or kittens right now

I currently don't have any foster animals to tell you all about. I decided that after my last ordeal and having vacation coming up that I'd take a few weeks off from fostering. I leave for Whistler tomorrow for a week of skiing, and it should be great! Once I get back, I'll start up the cat lady house again and will keep you all informed of my newest friends.

PF Chang's 1/2 Marathon Update

I ran my first 1/2 marathon yesterday. My time was 2 hours 4 minutes and 20 seconds and I'm thrilled! I was hoping to finish in 2 hours and 10 minutes so beating that time was exciting. My quads started to hurt at mile 9 and got progressively worse until the end of the race. By mile 12 I wasn't certain that I'd be able to finish, but I told my legs that it'd be only 1.1 miles left and to suck it up and finish! They cooperated and I was able to hobble over the finish line. I am still really sore today but I'm sure it'll get better in the next few days. Now what? I don't really have anything major on my list of things to accomplish. Maybe my next goal should be to try to beat the 2 hour mark...

Checking out their pics on my blog...

Ditto hanging out

Portland visiting the cat lady

Sad day...

I got bad news today...I picked up a new foster cat last Saturday that had part of her tail amputated as well as some abdomen wounds. After 24 hours of her not eating, drinking, or using the litter box I brought her back into the Humane Society to have her checked out. Unfortunately, she was too sick and had to be put down. I didn't get a picture of her, but she was gray and white like Orlando and Daytona. Hopefully she's in a better place now...

Why aren't you listening to me?!

Have you seen my dad??

At the vet before surgery...

Madison and Victoria are being declawed today. As you can see, they don't really want to be at the vet!

Helping herself to Ditto's food

Every day is Christmas at the Foster... by Amanda

She said she would volunteer
To help the animals far and near.
Across the valley to the shelter she went
To care for the pets and she said what she meant.

Soon enough, they followed her home,
The fostering begins, with "Uno," all alone.
A while later, his wounds healed, so back he'd go,
To be adopted by a happy family they know.

The spare room wasn't bear, not even a day,
Because Madison and 7 kittens had their say.
The day they came to foster care, Lisa got her new name:
We called her The Cat Lady - Full of Fame.

Across the house and down the hall
All of their names, we'd hear Lisa call.
Vegas, Sydney, Niagra, Diego, Portland, Victoria, Kona .
They each developed their own persona.

They grew and ate and played around,
Down the hallway, up the pole, and on the ground.
They stayed until they each found a new home
All except Victoria, at Lisa's foster care to always roam.

The first greyhound, Disciple, was a long time dream,
But the overall lifestyle didn't fit in the current scheme.
In comes Atlanta the greyhound, so save the day,
But he jumped the fence and had to go away.

There will be a time when life settles down,
And the greyhounds can return to this side of town.
A warm and caring home they will share,
In the life of the Animal Lady's care.

Maggie the lone kitty needed some care
So some alone time she came home to share.
She healed and ate and grew even cuter
And a family she found just to suit her.

The yet Unnamed Skinny Kitties are thriving on milk
They cuddle up, warm, calm, soft as silk.
Their day will come too, the future is near
And a new home they'll have, no fear.

Madison came home just before the holiday
To share more time, this time to stay.
The family she joins is surely a lot .
Boona, Rusty, Martini, Ditto, Victoria and whoever fills the foster spot.

In a house of the foster they share
The spirit of giving, loving, and care.
Every day is a holiday, so hold them near -
And have a Merry Christmas with all you hold dear.

I had to do it!

Well, I adopted Madison today. I just couldn't let her sit in the shelter any longer. She always hid and had very little chance of someone adopting her and she's a great cat. She made herself right at home when we got here so I guess it was the right thing to do.

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Spitt'n images of each other

Good news, the kittens love the kitten milk! I tried baby food and they didn't really care for it. Tried Whiskas soft food, didn't like that much either. It wasn't until I gave them kitten milk and a different kind of soft food that they started eating. Maybe now they won't look like they're starving and will get a little meat on their bones. I've been putting them to bed with a hot water bottle so they keep warm, poor little things. Still haven't named them either...

One of the foster kittens...

So much for dessert!

This was an angel food cake that went bad in a hurry. It was a nice looking cake when I took it out of the oven, then it flopped (literally) when I turned it upside down as instructed. I even had to drink a Smirnoff Ice to get the bottle, a tough job but someone had to do it!

My new foster kittens

I got two new kittens today. They look identical except one has a white tip on his tail. They are very skinny and aren't eating much so I'm going to try to lure them with baby food and kitten milk. Wish me luck.

XMAS Cheer

Maggie on her way back to the HS

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My new ride...

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Whatcha doin 'Tini?













Watch and learn kid...


















Ditto at Graduation night. And I thought we were going to be beginner school dropouts after the first night!

Tour de Tucson

I rode in the Tour de Tucson this past weekend with Ron and we had a great time and finished strong. We did the 109 mile route in 7 hours 25 minutes on the course and 6 hours 25 minutes of pedaling. There were about 9200 total riders, with 5000 of them signing up for the 109 mile ride. 4200 finished, 1500 of them behind us : )

I love my new home!

Don't do it, don't go to the light!

Catching up on current events

It's MINE !

OK, I give!

Nap-time!

On her first bird stalking...

Don't ya just wanna sqeeze me?!

Here we are again!

Just chill'n

Caught in the act!

nap time...

She's hooked on the Soaps!

For someone that small, this is quite a climb!