Tornado Drill

I have a love/hate relationship with storms. I love watching the wind whip around, the sheets of rain, the lightening. However, I live in Ohio, therefore storms can result in tornadoes which I hate. Don't get me wrong there is a small part of me that would love to be a storm chaser, but the rest of me is terrified. I mean 95% of the time the sirens go off there isn't a tornado, but I take precautions anyway. We have a routine in our house. Prior to actually living in a house, if we were under a tornado watch we would put the cats into their carriers, ready to go if we needed to head to a safer place in our apartment building. It's been much easier living in the rental house because currently our basement is finished so we just haul everybody down to the basement and chill.

Last night was no different (which, by the way, is pure crazy, it's November, not the season of tornadoes), when the TV sent out the signal that there was a warning we rounded all the animals up and headed downstairs. However, we couldn't find our one cat, Izzy. We used all our old standbys, shaking the treat container, pouring out some food, but she wouldn't come. We started to panic because we had been in and out of the house for the past few hours and Izzy likes to jet out into the back yard when she can. After searching everywhere in the house we came to the conclusion that she must be outside. So we grabbed our flashlights and the treats and spent the next hour combing the area around our house and our neighbors houses. We turned up nothing. We had decided to take a break and wait for the rain to let up when suddenly there she was sitting in the kitchen, completely dry. I'm really surprised I didn't crush her when I scooped her up and started crying. Which Izzy was completely against because she isn't a lovely cat. So we were back together safe and sound. Thank goodness. I still have no idea where she was because we tore through all the closets and her favorite sleeping spots looking for her but I don't care because she is safe.

Have you ever had a scary moment with your fur baby?

Fur the love of the babies

Haha, that was an awful pun, I apologize.

Anyway, we obviously love our fur babies like crazy. They are such spoiled little sweeties, there isn't much they go without.  Today I would like to talk a little about some products that make our life a little easier with the "kids".

First up, the Rok Strap Leash. This baby is amazing, especially if you have a puller. Pepper and Murphy are both pullers and we use this to help control them on walks. There is rubber in the leash to absorb the shock of them when they pull. It's pretty funny when they get really excited and they spring back like a bungee jumper.

 

DogCasino

 DogFinder

Next up: Nin Ottosson Dog Puzzles. We have the two pictured above and they are amazing. We have two super smart dogs that tend to get bored and when they get bored they destroy things. These puzzles require the dogs to figure out how to get the treats out from either drawers or under the bones. It's really fun to watch them try to figure it out and get so excited when they find it. Plus it stimulates them mentally and tires them out a little bit.

Last but not least, the Breeze Litter System. We only recently switched to this system but so far I love it. I hate cleaning up the loose litter all over the floor, we also hate cleaning the litter boxes. What is awesome about this system is that the pads in the bottom absorb the urine (and smell!) and need changed once a week and the pellets get changed once a month!!! Seriously, couldn't have asked for a better system.

So those are some of our favorite things, fur baby edition.

Not homeless

Hi all! Hope your 4th of July weekend was as epic as mine was! Got to catch up with some friends, see my awesome family and had an overall great weekend! Andy and I used the long weekend to think about our whole housing situation and ended up coming to the conclusion that we are going to have to stay in our current house. We e-mailed several apartments about short-term leases and the shortest lease we found was 6 months, we are even more hindered by our fur babies. Pets + short-term lease= No bueno. Doing the math and using December as our estimated completion date, a 6 month lease plus all the deposits and pet rent was pretty close in price as going month to month at our current house and being able to get out when we need. First major hurdle in the building process is taken care of! Now if only that was the only obstacle, but I have a feeling that it is not.

My Favorite Things: Cleaning Products Pt 2

I apologize for my skimpy post yesterday. I swear I had the whole thing written out and saved, I was just awaiting editorial approval (read: Andy had to read through it). I think Blogger might have just hated me yesterday, I had to re-write that post twice already so when I go home and it wasn't here I was in no mood to write it again. Anyway, where did I leave off yesterday? Oh yes, the last four cleaning products that I can't live without.

2. Pledge Fabric Sweeper

• What it does: Swoosh it across whatever fabric you have in mind (couches, chairs, blankets etc.) and it picks up that pesky fur.
• Why I love it: Four fur babies, 'nuff said. But seriously, when I don't feel like lugging the vacuum around the house to clean things this really gets the job done.

3. Bounce Dryer Bar

• What it does: It keeps my clothes and laundry static free and smelling fresh.
• Why I love it: I always forget to put in a dryer sheet or fabric softener. This convenient little bar sticks right into your dryer so you never have to worry about, well not entirely true, it needs replaced every couple of months.

4. Swiffer Dusters

• What it does: It dusts. Duh. Well it also captures the dust and doesn't spread it around.
• Why I love it: I abhor dusting. It is probably my least favorite chore. These little duster cloths really get the job done and keep the dust from flying around. 

5. Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel

• What it does: A little glob of gel in the toilet and it cleans with every flush. When it disappears you add another glob.
• Why I love it: It really keeps the toilets clean and it's easy to know when it needs to be replaced. Bonus is the smell is nice and fresh. 

There you have it, my favorite cleaning products. They make my household a little easier to clean.

So what are your favorite cleaning products and why?

A Dedication

Please press play before reading on.



 Nearer My God to Thee seemed appropriate, especially the lines: "Then with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,Out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise; So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee."

Last night, I had some devastating news, I learned that this world lost a great friend and my family lost a member. Our family dog, Madison, died. Madison had been battling cancer for the last month and the cancer won out last night. My sister and my mother fought hard to save her life but there was nothing more they could do. To many this may seem ridiculous, but to me it's like a death in the family because she was family. For twelve years she was there for us, she comforted us when we cried, she was excited with us when we were happy, and all the in between times she was there. Maddie was so sweet, so loving, so loyal and so fantastic, she was the best dog we had ever encountered and it is truly a devastating loss. We all loved her so much. I know that God gained a loyal companion in Heaven last night and I know now that she is free of her pain but I can't help but be a little sad that she's no longer on this Earth with us.

Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers today. Thank you all so much.

Is it a full moon or something?

I have to tell you there is something weird in the air around the SalTal household. It started a few days ago, our older kitty Izzy started getting more and more anti-social. Now this isn't too unusual for her, Izzy is a very low-maintenance kitty, she hangs out by herself and comes around when she wants attention or food and basically pals around with our other kitty Josie. However, she seems to be extra agitated lately, no one can get near her and she absolutely will not tolerate Josie within 5 feet of her. Andy and I have both picked her up and examined her to make sure she wasn't physically hurt somewhere and she doesn't seem to be sore anywhere, but we thought we would take her to the vet to be sure. Well, Andy couldn't even get her into the carrier this morning to go to said vet. She now is in her own private room (my office) quarantined in hopes that less stimulation will be good for her.

As if that wasn't worrisome enough, our Pepper pup will not go outside. She gets all scared and cowers down and we have to literally carry her outside and then she tries to run back into the house. This started last night. I have no idea what to think except that maybe there is some weird cosmic force at work that my very sensitive animals are picking up on and making them act funny.

Anyone have any experience with some sudden weird behavior in their animals? What did you do, if anything?

Kitty & Canine Holiday Blogger Gift Exchange

Yesterday I ran across the cutest and best idea in the world:

A fellow blogger Kelly over at KJPugs and her friend Hannah at GatorTales had posted this and I couldn't resist, I signed up Pepper and Murphy right away. I totally encourage you to participate as well! It should be fun, but take a look at the rules to make sure you can participate:

1. You have to have a living, breathing pet. Unfortunately, your pet rock is awkward.
2. Each pet has to be signed up individually, so if you have 3 pets – fill the form out 3 times! (It’s that easy.)
3. Deadline to sign up is Wednesday, November 24th
4. Deadline to send your gift to a cute little pet is Friday, December 10th
5. If you sign up you are promising to participate. No one likes a holiday Grinch!
6. Please keep the gift under $10 – it doesn’t cost a lot to send some love!

Read the rules? Want to participate? Then Click Here and fill out the form do it, you know you want to.