She Said Yes!!

Sunday, March 17th, 2013 will forever be stored in a special crevice in my brain.  I never imagined that  this day would have worked out so perfectly; perhaps I have somebody named St. Patrick to thank, or perhaps it was due to the green spandex I wore head-to-toe for warmth (and luck?).  Either way, my story needs to be told, so if you're curious, please read on!

Angie and I woke up early on Sunday morning, bundled up, hit up Starbucks, then begun our drive down to Mount Rainier National Park.  The plan for the day was to snowshoe up in Paradise; a location I had previously hiked in the summer and basked in the views from Panorama Point.  This was the location I wanted so badly to propose to Angie; however Mother Nature had a different plan for me.  Paradise got 8 new inches of snow on Saturday night and the roads would not be open until at least 11:30am.  Since we got there shortly before 10:00am, neither of us wanted to sit around and wait. We decided that we could stop at Longmire and talk to the rangers there to find a trail.  Secretly I wanted to make it to our end destination before lunchtime anyway, so this was fine with me.

We were given a few different trails to choose from - an easy trail along a river, an extremely short and easy loop nearby, random snowshoeing in a campground, OR a strenuous hike up a steep slope.  Since this was our first time ever snowshoeing and not knowing what in the world we had in store for us, of COURSE we chose the steep slope. Duh!  The Rampart Ridge trail received many cuss words from me on the way up. Holy goodness!  Sure, a 2 mile hike up hill doesn't sound too bad, but strap awkward shoes to your feet, stomp around in 6 inches of fresh snow on a narrow pathway with a drop on one side, and you have yourself a workout.  At one point we caught up to a group ahead of us that we had been grumbling about since they seemed to be going too slowly for our desires.  We passed them, realized they were breaking the trail and that they had a tour guide, and quickly stepped aside to let them get back in front of us. I gladly let them figure out the location of the trail and pack the snow down a bit. Thanks, group! (Now get a move on!)

The views on the way up were unbelievable.  If you have never seen evergreen trees lined with snow, with snow falling slowly and softly from the sky, you are missing out on something gorgeous.  We stopped numerous times to take in the views and snap some photos (okay - really we needed some breathers, but I'll blame it on the views).  At one point Angie took a stick and wrote "I LOVE MOLLY!" in the snow.  How cute! If only she knew what she had in store for her.

We finally made it up to the viewpoint at the top of the ridge.  I think it was about 20 degrees colder up there since we were no longer amongst thousands of trees.  The view was decent, but with the fog and snow, it was hard to see much other than the trees down below.  At this point we really realized how far up we had hiked.  We plopped our butts into the snow to eat a quick lunch.  Angie started opening her bag to get the bananas and power bars she had packed, but I immediately stopped her and told her I had a surprise.  I had secretly made the most awesome lunch EVER for us to enjoy once we got to the top. Yes, folks, I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and packed Doritos. C'mon, who wouldn't want that meal?  Ang and I love to be goofy together, so I knew she'd appreciate it as much as I did.  She was surprised and enjoyed the meal. Success!

Here's the point where it started to get tricky.  My initial planning had me proposing to Angie after we ate lunch and were sitting at our final destination.  However, there were several other people at the top with us and nobody was leaving any time soon.  It was way too cold to sit up there and wait for an alone time, so we went ahead and trekked back the way we came.  We could have joined a couple of the other awesome people we met at the top, but I told her that I wanted some quality alone time and that I had dessert!

We continued our journey down and were relieved once we hit the warmer sections, and also extremely happy to be going DOWN hill!  I frolicked a bit and thoroughly enjoyed every minute, while still wondering when in the world I was going to propose now that my plan was thrown off.  Angie came to the rescue, though, when she decided to be her goofy and adorable self.  I looked back and noticed she was rolling snowballs down the side of the mountain, and then laughing at them as they made little footprints behind. I went up to her and she rolled a few more, getting giddy with each one as they would pass trees and roll further and further.  The next thing I knew, I was cheering on these little snowballs with her, and instantly knew that this was my perfect timing.  We were standing there doing something completely stupid, but having a blast doing it.  There was nobody in sight an no sounds besides the soft pitter patters of snow hitting us.

I told Angie to pop a squat in the snow - she looked at me funny, and said "what?". I repeated, "pop a squat!". Again, Angie: "huh? (confused why I would be telling her to sit in the snow)"  Me: "Sit down, I have dessert!"(If you don't know us, we LOVE dessert)  She finally sat, and I pulled out two Jimmy John's cookies which are some of our favorites.  We bit down, and realized they were rock hard and frozen.  Fail! Final verdict was to eat them in the car when we got back.  I then proceeded to tell her that I had something else for her, and pulled out a card.  Angie stuck out her hand, but I said that I wanted to read this card to her. (Insert mega nerves here!)  She didn't know, but I wrote out my proposal in this card in a very emotional, ooey gooey, honest way.  I figured there would be absolutely no way I would actually say what I wanted to when the time came, and I wanted her to have my proposal forever.  Too many times I hear that people don't remember what the proposal was because they got lost in the moment.  Since I wrote mine in a card, she had it forever, and I had a notecard!

I sat down next to her with the card in hand.  One thing I had been the most scared of was how I would kneel with snowshoes on.  Enter into my head and picture a dork falling flat on her face with a ring in hand.  Yeah, sitting was a great idea.  I opened the card and I immediately told her I couldn't read it.  The nerves finally hit me!  At one point I said she should just read it, but then said "no, I have to read it". After a few moments to collect my thoughts, I started reading like a big girl that I am.  I made sure to look at her to catch her emotions, and as her eyes got teary, I couldn't help but get teary with her.  She didn't fully know what was coming until my last couple lines, but I pulled out the ring and asked her to marry me.  The response I got? "OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD. OHHH MY GOD. YES!!!! ohmygodohmygodohmygod!"  I got a yes!!!! :-)


We sat there for a while in complete happiness.  We cried, we laughed, and we attempted to take pictures of us with her new bling.  After several attempts at cute/nice pictures, we decided to take a goofy one, and of course the first shot was awesome.

We continued our journey down the hill with permagrins slapped to our faces.  Seriously I don't recall a happier, more love-filled moment of my life.  Shortly after we started moving, I remembered that I had packed a couple mini bottles of wine for us to enjoy after the proposal, but we decided those could wait. We got back to the car and Angie enjoyed her mini bottle of wine (don't worry, I was the driver), and we both chowed down on our still frozen (but edible) cookies while we sat in the parking lot and thought about what just happened.  Ahhhhhhh!  What a day!!!!!!

The last surprise I had in store for Angie was a nice dinner outing once we got home and cleaned up.  We had a fabulous outing at Purple Wine Bar and I don't think either of us ever stopped smiling.  This day could not have ended more perfectly than a romantic dinner with my beautiful fiancee sitting across from me!

Angie is seriously the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I am honored to be marrying her.  I'm still trying to compile all of my thoughts, but I'll continue enjoying the cloud 9 that life has securely fastened me into.

<3 <3 <3

Kitty Super Bowl...Who's Leading?

Entering week 3 of our toilet training and I know you're anxiously waiting to read updates.  We currently have the red ring (no holes) on the toilet and everybody seems to be happy, so we will be changing to the orange ring soon, which has a small hole in the middle.  How exciting!  So how have each of the kitties been performing?  If you have filled out your Fantasy Kitty Toilet Training roster, you are in for a treat.  Actually, I am going to re-name it to the Kitty Super Bowl. Ha. Ha. Get it. Yeahhhh I amuse way too easily.

If you're like me and like to cheer for the underdogs, er undercats, then you probably picked Milo to lead the group. Unfortunately, this undercat did not perform to his highest ability.  'scratch scratch, scratch scratch' - NOT the most ideal feeling to wake up to at 5:30am on a Tuesday morning.  Thank you, Milo, for showing your frustrations and urinating in my bed while I slept soundly, leading to early morning laundry excursions. *grumble grumble*.  Gross? Yes, but luckily this has only happened twice.  Actually the Litter Kwitter instructions say to keep bedroom doors closed when you're not home/sleeping because cats may potty in your bedroom since it smells like you and is comfortable.  Hmph. Good to know now.  Luckily those are the only two Milo incidents.  We have even caught him pottying a couple times on the toilet.  Good job, Milo!


Merlin, Merlin, Merlin.  If you have followed recent facebook posts, then you know the antics Merlin has been up to.  Whether Merlin is extremely 'special' or extremely intelligent is still up for debate.  All we know, is he started unravelling the toilet paper onto the litter tray.  Much easier to cover the litter with paper than it is with litter!  Picture proof:

Okay so this is funny - hilarious actually.  Angie sent me the second picture via text message while I was walking in downtown Bellevue.  Yes, I became one of those crazy people you see laughing for no reason while walking.  As funny as this is though, it is quite the nuisance and a waste of paper.  Therefore, we keep the paper in the cupboard now. Poor fella. Seriously though, if you want to follow our example, then you should learn to flush!  Other than the paper fiasco, Merlin has had no mishaps.  Yay Merlin!

Dumbledore....our Toilet Master.  Actually, I think we need to name him our Sink Master.  *sigh*.  Were you wondering why there is a board across the sink in the second picture?  Yes, that is kitty proofing the sink. Ever since Dumbledore was a wee little kitty, he has hated litter and would prefer to go #1 down a drain.  Going back to step one with the full litter tray was quite annoying to him!  Whenever possible, we put the green tray (see in first picture above on floor) on for him to keep him happy.  Once we get to the open ring stages, I think he'll be happier and will stop using the sinks. Yes, very gross, but I suppose it's easier to clean than the bed.  Argh! Anyway, he's a pro, just had to take a step backwards.

Dusty. Oh Dusty - he's still a rock star.  Nothing new to report.  He potties in the tray like nothing changed.  He's also a pro coverer.  You know he went potty when there's a big mound of litter on the tray. :-)

There we have it - if you picked Dusty to lead the pack, you are a winner so far!  Time will tell how he'll cooperate with the open trays!  Keep your fingers crossed that we'll have all four kitties pottying in the orange tray by the next time I post....

Newest Activity: Tracking Kitty Bowel Movements

Kitty bowel movements? What? Why?....Really?!  Yes, yes, and...yes.  I can strongly assume that most cat owners will put 'scooping kitty litter' on top of the most hated cat-owning responsibilities.  I mean, I fully understand that it can be quite thrilling as it's a treasure hunt and/or archaeological dig of sorts. However without fail the rewards are going to, well...stink, er...be quite crappy, bleh...you get my point.  Wouldn't it be nice if cats would simply use the toilet like their human counterparts?  Not only eliminating the need to treasure hunt, but also avoiding the inevitable littery/pooey paws on the kitchen counter/stove/tv stand/bookshelf/face while you're sleeping.  It would be nice, and the  Litter Kwitter is going to help us achieve this goal.

If you're now scoffing at me and saying this is impossible - read this: Angie's blog.  Proof that it does work, and proof that two of our four cats have once been capable of this feat.  If you still don't believe it, ask Angie for her video. :-) (Or don't. Really, you don't need to see it. Just trust me.)

Dumbledore and Merlin were successfully toilet trained when they were wee little kitties, thanks to Angie's hard work and dedication.  It was no easy task, but Angie's studio apartment became a litter-free zone.  My two boys, Milo and Dusty, continued with their normal litter usage.  I previously had issues with Milo urinating on my couch after I tried using a more earth friendly litter, so I deemed him untrainable.  Okay, so perhaps I was the untrainable one since I didn't have patience for his pickiness.

Dumbledore, Merlin, Milo, and Dusty all now happily live together.  A few squabbles here and there, but overall, it's a happy (and very fluffy) household.  With much displeasure from Angie, we had to re-introduce litter boxes to Dumbledore and Merlin.  We kept the final ring of the Litter Kwitter on a toilet, but only Dumbledore uses it to do #1 - when he feels like it.  (He really doesn't like getting litter stuck between his toes)  Think about it - every time you go to relieve yourself, you end up getting dirty rocks stuck in your feet that you have to lick out. Ew!

With PE studies and work preoccupying all of our free time, we decided to put any further toilet training on the shelf. Until now! Yippee!  The litter boxes have been moved to the deck and an additional Litter Kwitter has been purchased, so we are yet again tracking kitty bowel movements!  With Milo and Dusty being beginners, we are starting with Step 1 - keeping the red ring (no holes) on the floor of the bathroom which acts like a mini litter box.

Okay, so I can't lie when I view this as a competition of sorts.  Fantasy Kitty Toilet Training? One point for successful #1, two points for successful #2, negative points for non-Litter Kwitter usage, bonus points for making it in the middle ring?  Team D vs Team M?  Team Molly vs Team Angie?  Okay okay, enough already.

Meet the students/competition:

Dumbledore. Toilet Master.:

Merlin. Ex-Toilet Master:

                                              

                                                 

Dusty. Beginner:

Milo. Beginner:

As an update: we have sufficient proof that all four cats have successfully used Step 1 of the Litter Kwitter.  Dusty was the first to brave the new challenge, and Milo had a minor setback by pottying on the guest bed.  Keep cheering them on and wishing us luck in our new venture to have a litter-free home. :-D

(And yes, we'll own up to being crazy cat ladies. Just go with it.)