an ode slash farewell

first off, i have been meaning to post these sweet photos of mr. gino, but just never got around to it. so let sweet photo posting commence:

Pretty sure it's not normal for catdogs to refuse to drink anything but fresh tap water.

And that was the ode part.

i guess i feel pretty crappy to admit that i took sweet gino back.

yes, our foster adventure has come to a close. but don't fret! it was for purely loving reasons only. i really don't have the time to give him the face-mushing, fresh water attention he needs. i'm not all about animal neglect, so sue me.

here are some tender farewell photos to lift your achey spirit.

what a sweet little lover. {pray for his adoption.}

TWIP ~week doce~

..i can't tell you what these photos are for yet

but..

just notice please what a creepster gino is.

i mean really?

this is what i deal with every second of every day

that i am within reach of his face.

just look at the determination in his eyes.

and also this

may just be hands down THE best picture we've ever taken.

have a very merry weekend

xoxo

if you knew how i've wanted someone to come along and change my life the way you've done.

        Yesterday, the boy I like walked into my room and found me stuffed under my covers with Gino asleep on my head.
He poked me.
"Is something wrong?"
I groaned and in a whiney, muffled voice replied, "I'm pooped."
The mattress made that creaky noise as he sat down. Gino promptly stretched over to be scratched.
"Why are you pooped, love?" Asked the boy I like.
"Do you want a list? Really? Okay.
- I can't handle _____. She drives me nuts. WHY does she speak so slowly? Why does she make everyday more miserable and hard and tiring. I'm going to lose it.
- I can't find Jenna's christmas present. I have spent 4 hours total looking. Everytime I know what I want I can't find it.
- I am extremely tired.
- I got the wrong suddenly salads because you distracted me with your dimples and charm and now I have to go exchange them, and we all know how that goes.
- My car needs gas and it's cold outside.
- I am behind on my christmas movie watching.
- I don't want to take my finals.
- I miss AJ. Always.
.. and those are the unbearable things." I winced, knowing that he was about to fix everything because that's what he does so well.
He rubbed my back thoughtfully and after a few moments filled with quiet words and sparks, I came to this conslusion:

The world is good. Simple things such as the movement of our bodies, the feeling of the sun on our face- these things are what matter. I am so lucky that I get to open my eyes every day and see these mountains, this wide sky, the shaking trees. I breathe the crisp air and the skin of my loved ones and that is steady and consistent. We have the ability to bring life onto this planet from somewhere else. We have the ability and the capacity and the courage to love other people. Humans can travel from one place to another and look into the eyes of the people there and hear their story and remember it. We have the ability to remember. We have the ability to choose. To choose love, bravery, promises. To choose joy every single moment. To choose to be nice, because you don't know their story and all anybody ever really needs is love. We were given this blip of time on this rotating rock in the vast universe-- given these moments to live and breathe and touch. And when we go, we will remember it all.
What will you remember?

i've made a discovery

gino

is a cat

trapped

in a dog's body

the above marvelous photo is of a boy i like, whom we shall call 'the boy i like'

and my catdog, whom we shall continue to call gino.

Dearest Gino,

AKA face nuzzler

I'm sorry for locking you out of my room at night. A girls gotta sleep.

what i know now

so far

this is what i've learned

when they lie on their back

so you can scratch their tummy

it means they trust you

when they knead their paws

{and claws}

into numerous parts of your body

it means they love you

when their poop stinks

it means they're healthy

when they throw their litter

everywhere

it means you need to clean out the box

when they wake you up at night

it means they slept all day

they like fresh cold water

and

mostly only kitties want to play

everyone else just wants to cuddle..forever

hisses and growls are bad

and it probably means the dog is about to get swiped

and

cats can be sweet

like any animal, it depends on how they are

raised

No Gino. No Gino. No Gino.

Once there was a cat named Gino. He was probably the sweetest cat ever, but.

He had a real hard time listening. I think that was mostly because he had an unquenchable thirst for affection

and he just couldn't think of containing it!

He was the master of headbutting your face until you gave him a kiss.

In fact, once he even pulled my computer away from me in a very human-like manner so that my hand would be free to scratch his belly.

Do all cats like their bellies scratched?

All I'm sayin' is, Gino. I have to sleep at two in the morning.

Please stop trying to wake me up by

pawing my head

crying in my ear

laying on my head

pushing your wet little nose into my eyeball

I cannot pet you unceasingly for the rest of our lives.

You have nine or something like that, don't you?

PS...

*Gino is from here, sponsored by No More Homeless Pets Utah.

adventure foster cat

today i began a new adventure.

i would like to introduce you to

Gino.

(Not Vino or Tido.)

(But maybe Mr. Mistoffelees.)

As you can see, he has made himself quite at home.

I was afraid of him at first because

I've never really owned a cat.

Except Katrina, when I was really little. And the only memory I have of her is the day she died

how sad is that?

There was also Sparky. But the point is, I didn't actually raise or own these cats. I was a sibling to them.

So I was thinking what if this cat who has a mafia-style name all the sudden

in the middle of the night bites off my face?

My cousin has a major cat scratch scar on her face.

But I'm not afraid anymore because Gino is sweet.

He loves to cuddle. He headbutts you until you give in.

And Gino is special.

He is feline HIV positive.

He is currently healthy and happy and the only problem I have is that he

sheds.

Like really.

A lot.

Can you shave long haired cats?

Well anyways come along on my little adventure! I'll most likely be writing about little Gino

(who is actually of respectable size)

for many weeks to come.

And if you decide to foster a cat sometime you will have something colorful to reference.

He's snoring.