CHLOE!

My mother pointed out that I haven't posted any pictures of the new addition in my family: my baby kitty Chloe! She's 9 weeks, and absolutely perfect!

This is Chloe (Chlo for short) cuddled up with a blanket so she doesn't scratch the leather couches!

Chloe loves hiding in the box on the bottom shelf of my nook in my dining room!

I caught her mid-yawn...it kind of looks like she's laughing at herself in the mirror, huh?

Is she not the cutest baby kitty ever? I love this picture because you can really see how tiny she is!
She's super cute, but not quite sure of the camera yet...

Chloe's first bath--"GET ME OUTTA HERE!"

After the bath, she hid underneath my bathroom counters because she didn't want to go back in!

Here is Chloe looking wet--and pissed off!

Art Project!

Another girl who is in my doctoral program, Sarah, recently bought a house with her parents about a mile away from my condo. The people who owned the house before her left a few pieces of furniture for her, and because she had no need for them, she offered them to me! So on Friday, Sarah and her boyfriend Jeff carted over two side tables and a coffee table for me to have (no more Tupperware bins as side tables!). She mentioned that they "might need a little paint," but after looking at them, I decided that they'd need a lot of paint! They also had wicker bottoms, and I thought I'd be able to just cut off the bottom piece--yeah, not gonna happen; the first side table I tried to cut the bottom off simply broke in half. Darn. Thus, I figured I'd just paint them black. The woman who owned my condo before me left me tons of paint, so I started using black spray paint to cover it, and voila, it was gorgeous! I had to buy two more cans of spray paint (!) but the results are fabulous! Some before and after pictures for your pleasure:

The coffee table before painting (thanks to Sarah M. for the picture)

The side table (that didn't break!) before painting (thanks to Sarah M. for the picture)

The coffee table after painting (and with my furniture!)

The side table after panting (mom says she thinks the lamp is too small now!)

It's Only 2 Weeks Late!

Since I haven't updated in a while, I'll let you know what's been going on for the past two weeks!
Two days before mom and dad flew back north, we went to the zoo. At 9am, it was 90º, and it did not get any cooler! Thus, I apologize for the sweaty faces up front!

Here, mom and I are holding our merkat (is that how you spell it?) fans that we got at the front gate--we needed them, it was so hot!

Mom and dad as lady bugs! Dad looks pretty manly, I'd say!

Dad and I right at the end of the zoo trip...TOO HOT to be at the zoo anymore!

After mom and dad left, it was pretty lonely around here! I went to a movie with my neighbor Sherry (we saw Hellboy 2, which wasn't my choice but surprisingly not bad!) and out to lunch with another neighbor, Sharon--apparently all the cool people in the complex have names starting with S! I was lucky enough to have a friend from PLU, Lauren, come visit as her and her family were passing by (I know, "passing by" in Waco?). Her family decided that a fun vacation would be to tour the US in a 6-passenger van that was really an RV, so I got to spend some time with her! It was great to see a familiar face!

Lauren and I at Lake Waco

A picturesque view of Lake Waco...the temperature was about 103º that day!

Other than that, life's been pretty mellow. Hope you all are well!

HERE!

Regular updating of the trip wasn't possible due to lack of internet access, so here I am, updating on July 13th (!!) when we really arrived late on July 1st.

The Uhaul trip went well! Here's a picture of me and dad the Saturday before we left, with our truck and trailer! [Click on the picture to enlarge it]
We were completely surprised at how quickly the drive went. Mom had a few different stops tentatively planned for us, but we decided that since we had nothing better to do (and sitting at a motel for hours isn't fun) that we might as well keep driving! Our first stop was New Plymouth, ID where we stayed with my uncle Fred and aunt Linda! We also got to see my cousin Willy, his wife Ashli, and their son Jackson!


My aunt Linda made a great dinner, and had dessert too! ...which she promptly spilled on herself!


The next stop was somewhere in Utah, but I can't remember as it was a tiny little motel with a gas station that tried to get us to pay $4.50 a gallon! (Dad was smart and only got $20 worth, and then we filled up a little down the road for $3.93). We passed through Colorado and saw the Rockies, too!


We also passed through these weird bumpy sand dune-like hills in Oklahoma!

More pictures of the condo and the zoo with my parents coming soon!