Christmas is coming...

Schadling and Santa
Originally uploaded by zeliecat.

(First of all... let me introduce you to Schadling (aka The Little One). I cannot believe that he was so good when we took him to see Santa! Usually he's a spaz and HATES being around people. But, this picture of him is just too cute!)

I can't believe Christmas is tomorrow! Where does the time go? And it seems to "sneak" up on me every year.

I finally wrapped my presents last night. I hate that I wait to the last minute. It's not like I don't know when Christmas is. It doesn't change from year to year.

Yesterday was the annual Christmas lunch at Mueller Art Cover. I was incharge of baking the Veggie Lasagna! :-) It was nice to put faces to the names that Bob talks about all the time.

Following lunch, I went to the mall. BIG MISTAKE!! The traffic was unbelievable. I left as quickly as I could. Why do people wait until the last minute??? (Oh... guess I shouldn't speak too loudly since I was there too! LOL!)

Last night Bob's brother, Keith, came over. We ordered pizza and had a few beers. We talked Lost, cats and politics! (Yes, we are a diverse group of people!) Unfortunately since Keith lives in D.C., I haven't spent much time with him. He's a great guy and I know if we lived closer to each other, the 3 of us would probably see each other more.

I'm packing now for Christmas weekend. Bob and I are headed to the Winking Lizard in Fairlawn to have lunch with Alex and Magi before heading to Y-Town to go to Christmas Eve mass with my family. Alex and Magi are two other people that we wish lived closer! They're in D.C. too. Bob's been friends with Alex since grade school and I've had the pleasure of meeting them a few times! Wonderful people! Maybe Bob and I need to move to the east coast?? :-) LOL!

We'll spend tonight at my parents', open presents in the morning and head off to Bob's parents' around lunchtime.

And then... Monday is FLORIDA!! I cannot wait!! I haven't packed anything, so I'm guessing I'll be up late on Christmas or up early Monday morning. Bob and I are really looking forward to this trip. We both could use some R&R. Normally when I go on vacation, I like to "go, go, go" and see as much as I can. But, last year when we went to Florida, we just relaxed and took it easy and it was wonderful. We're hoping to make a trip to see my cousin Traci and her husband Mike in Terra Ceia Bay (north of Tampa). So that will be something fun!

Bob and I wish all of you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Enjoy the time with your family and friends. Don't forget to tell the special people in your life how much they mean to you, especially during this time of year!

Zelie's annual trip to see Santa!

Steph, Zelie and Santa
Originally uploaded by zeliecat.

Zelienople took his annual trip to see Santa at Petsmart on Saturday!

This year was quite interesting compared to past years. Zelie used to be a wonderful car-rider. Sure, he would meow and meow when we first got in the car, but after awhile he would fall asleep. Well, within the past 2 years, riding in the car has become quite a scary thing for him. He begins foaming at the mouth and has "little shoe strings" hanging from the corners of his mouth. (Have you seen the movie "Turner & Hooch"?? That's Zelie!!) It's such a sad sight!

So... this year, to make matters even worse... Bob and I brought Schadling (aka The Little One) with us. Bob has never taken his cats to visit Santa, so he thought he'd start with The Little One. Not only does Zelie not like riding in cars anymore... he doesn't like being around The Little One.

We put both cat carriers in the car and the meowing begins. The Little One sounding like someone was rolling over him and Zelie wailed away. One cat would meow and the other would answer back. Of course, Bob and I didn't help the situation by adding voices to their cries... "Where are they taking us?... I don't know." "Why won't they let us out of these cages?... I hate being near you." Within 10 minutes, Zelie had "shoe strings" coming out of his mouth. I felt so bad for him.

We arrive at the Petsmart in North Olmsted and after some cleaning up of Zelie... we head into the store. I was worried about bringing The Little One because he hates being around strange people, so I expected him to freak out. But, he was actually quite calm during the whole experience. Once Zelie was out of his cage, he was better too. (No more "shoe strings"... thankfully!)

It was quite an interesting afternoon. I'm sure it's one the kitties won't soon forget...

Long time... no blog... lots going on!

Well, it's been quite some time since I've blogged. So, here's a quick summary of everything that's been going on (including a picture of how I would see myself as a SouthPark character! You can make YOUR OWN character by clicking here! You can also check out Bob's SouthPark character on his website.)

1. MLB Industry Meetings at Disney World! - I attended my first ever business trip and had an absolutely awesome time. I learned so much from the other teams' Community Relations reps and I also learned a lot about my fellow co-workers. I feel empowered and ready to take the company's community outreach in a new direction! (PLUS, I spent a few days in Disney World. What could be better than that!??!? Although, I didn't see Mickey Mouse!! Come to think of it... I didn't see any Disney characters. Oh well, I guess that's a good excuse to go back!)

2. Bob's 30th Birthday! - For Bob's "special" birthday, I surprised him with a trip to Niagara Falls! (Yes, we did go to the falls in the winter. And yes, we are well aware that it's COLD there in the winter!) We had a great trip! We stayed on the Canadian side at the Marriott Fallsview. Before crossing into Canada, we stopped on the American side to see the falls. Unfortunately, due to the time of the year, a lot of the parks and walkways were closed because of the mist from the falls could freeze on the lower walkways when the temperatures dropped. We saw a tourist spot called "Cave of the Winds" on Goat Island and decided to check it out. The signs said that it was the closest you could get to the falls. We learned that most of the walkways had been taken apart for the winter, but for a reduced rate of $3 per person, you could get to the main walkway. It was AWESOME!! When all the walkways are set-up, you can actually go between the two falls on the American side. You can see the photo taken of us just to the side of one of the falls. You can see part of the walkway above us, which was closed. It was amazing!! We're hoping to go back during the warmer weather and take the tour again.

We also spent an afternoon at Niagara-on-the-Lake. It's a very quaint little town along the water with gorgeous old houses and cute little shops along the main street.

We had a wonderful trip and it was nice to get away from things for a few days. We both took off the entire week of Thanksgiving! :-)

3. Bob's Surprise Dinner - The night before we left for the trip, I surprised Bob with a dinner at Tomo Hibachi in Strongsville, and invited some of his friends. We had never been to the relatively new restaurant, but had heard good things. I think he suspected something was up when I started cleaning up the condo earlier that day. I don't think he knew that people were meeting us at the restaurant, but he knew that someone was coming over. He definitely had no idea we were going to Tomo. Everyone had a great time and great food! And after dinner, everyone came over for cake and ice cream. (This was Bob's 30th Birthday Cake!! Unfortunately by the time I got to Diary Queen, the only cakes they had left had roses, rainbows or Fred Flintstone. I went with the most "man-ly" option! LOL!)

















4. Gas Leak! - We had a gas leak at our condo and were without gas for a couple days -- which happened to be on the very rare 65 degree day in November! (At least we didn't have to worry about freezing without heat!!)

Bob rented excavating equipment to dig up the gas line so that it could be replaced. Luckily, the leaking pipe wasn't under the driveway. If it had been, we would've had to tear up part of the driveway to replace the pipe. I think Bob had too much fun using the equipment!



4. Sarah's 25th Birthday - My sister-in-law, Sarah, turned 25 on December 5. My parents and Grandma came up to visit and we celebrated Sarah's birthday by going to dinner at Rockne's (YUMMY!!) and then going back to S&S's for cake and ice cream! (Here's a photo of Sarah, my mom and my grandma!) During their visit, mom helped Bob and I decorate our place for Christmas. When I have time to take photos of our Christmas tree, I'll post them here!






Work's been very busy... getting ready for the Grand Slam Awards Night in January. Plus, finalizing the 2006 budget, and closing out the 2005 financials. But, on the plus side... I don't have to work any more Fridays in 2005! (Thanks for The Rock Boat cruise being cancelled by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita... I have extra vacation days.) AND, Bob and I are leaving for our "annual" Florida trip the day after Christmas. I can't wait! It's going to be great to fall asleep every night listening to the waves hitting the beach... stay tuned for photos! :-)

Thanks for reading... feel free to visit often and leave comments! I LOVE comments! :-)