Yes, I know I have been practically nonexistent the past couple of months - working 2 jobs and being a full-time grad student is very . . . time consuming.

However, lest you forget I am still here, I thought I’d bombard your feedreader in celebration of my third blogiversary. Yes, Suspension of Disbelief is 3 years old today. Quite a bit has happened to me since I started my blog. I’ve graduated from college and started graduate school - twice. I’ve gotten my first AND second non-summer jobs, I’ve lost both of my grandmothers, I’ve adopted kittens . . . and so much more!

Thanks for sticking with me, even if I’m not consistent AT ALL. It still makes me feel appreciated to know that you are here when I do have the time to blog. And I promise, at some point, things will settle down enough so that I can get back to a bit more regular blogging routine. Thanks for your support!

To appease the masses, I bring to you . . . an update.

Yes, I have been a very sucky blogger the past few months. Grad school + job = NO FREE TIME. Pity me, please?

OK, so last I spoke was when Nana passed away. I was in Georgia for about a week helping with funeral arrangements and the like, then I came back to North Carolina.

My kittens did great while I was gone (AJ watched them for me), and they also gained names! I named the one with more white on his face Oscar (for Oscar Peterson) and the other one is Miles (for Miles Davis). There will be more pictures to come, though they haven’t grown AT ALL since I got them (which, I shouldn’t say that too loud - they are precious and adorable, I like their size now, LOL). They love to cuddle with me and they are SO GOOD together - I can’t imagine ever seperating them. I feel bad because I am gone so much of the day, so I don’t get to spend nearly as much time with them as I want to, but since they have each other, I know that they’re doing just fine. They just really like to cuddle when I come home!

The next week was utter chaos because it was holiday at Starbucks, so crazy busy, and I also had one week to get ready for Christmas. AJ and I had a lovely Christmas on the 21st, and on the 22nd I had Christmas with his family. On the 23rd I drove to GA, had Christmas with MY family, and then drove back on the 26th.

On the . . . 29th? . . . I woke up at about 3:30AM with really intense pain in my lower right abdomen. I could barely stand up, and it made me throw up it hurt so bad. I was able to get to the computer, saw that the right side is the appendix side, and decided I didn’t want to risk it. I called AJ and woke him up and he got me to the ER. It turns out that I had a ruptured ovarian cyst, so the next week I was off my feet a bit and then taking it pretty easy. I feel much better now, but man that hurt!!!

Classes started back on January 4th, and it has been NONSTOP since then. At the moment my rotation is in the development office, and it’s very time intensive. My schedule most days is something like this:

Rotation: 8AM-9:30AM
Class: 10AM-2PM
Rotation: 2PM-4:30PM
Work: 5:45PM-11:45PM

Note that I get about 8 hours off . . . and those are the sleeping hours . . . try fitting homework and sanity time in there. I’m exhausted. Luckily, there are only about 4 more weeks of this rotation and then I switch to something a little more laid back, so if I can just hang in there.

I’m getting really tired of school. As I go through all my classes, I realize that I’m not really learning a ton. I don’t say this to be cocky, I just got a really great undergrad education, and my instincts are usually pretty good. If it weren’t for the darned three letters that I need to get a job (MFA), I probably would be just fine to have skipped all this. I just have to keep reminding myself that I’ve only got about a year and a half before my internship, and while that’s technically still school, it’s really a job too, and it will be in an office somewhere (or something . . .)

I have missed being able to be online. I feel like I’m losing a little bit of myself because of all the craziness. Summer will be a welcome time. How is everyone else doing (is anyone even reading my blog anymore)?

Well, I got my kittens last night! So far, it’s been interesting.

The first thing was that when AJ and I went to the shelter to pick them up, AJ’s little kitten was there too, and they were wanting her to go home last night. This was news to us, but AJ went ahead and filled out all the paperwork and so three went back to my apartment. Ana spent the night with me and the boys since AJ wasn’t prepared to have her yet and needs to do some kitten proofing.

Ana and my boys don’t NOT get along, but even this morning they were still growling and hissing some, so that was a challenge all last night - keeping them all happy and unscared when they were freaking each other out.

The other mishap - around 5AM this morning, one of the boys got up next to me on the bed . . . and then peed. It was so gross. I mean, I was expecting it to happen at some point, but this was the first night, and it was 5AM . . .

So, I immediately stripped the bed and started washing things, and slept on the sofa. I’m kind of tired, and I was running late this morning since I didn’t have my alarm clock in the room with me . . . oh well.

I still don’t have names for them, but we’re trying to figure something out. And they are at home right now (I’m at the box office), and I am sooo hoping they haven’t torn things apart!

Pictures forthcoming!

(Anyone have tips about the peeing?)

I have big news, and I have been holding back on it for a week!

Last year, I mentioned that one of the things I wanted for Christmas was a puppy. Then I met AJ, we started dating, and he got kittens, Jazz and the Little One. So I changed my mind, and said I really wanted kittens. I had no idea that I liked cats - I have always been a “dog person.” It never occurred to me that I could be both a dog and cat person, but I truly love AJ’s cats soooo much (need to get some updated pictures, they’re so big now)! I even asked for your advice about cats just in case!

Well, the day after Thanksgiving, my whole family and AJ decided to go to lunch together, and AJ suggested a place by the humane society because he decided to get a third(!) cat. We went and ate, then AJ said “OK, I’m gonna walk to the humane society to look at another kitten for me.”

Then my mom said “actually, Lindsey, AJ is not getting a kitten, you are getting two.”

My Christmas present from my parents is two kittens!!!!!!!!!

They decided that since I have a job and therefore can’t travel as much, now might be a better time to get a pet. And since I’ve discovered cats now, they would be better for me than puppies because I am away from home for long periods of time during the day (with school and work). So, that is my present from them - two kittens and allllll the stuff that comes with them (litter boxes, toys, vet trips, food, etc.)

So, we went to the humane society, and I didn’t see any I wanted. Over the next week, AJ and I visited the humane society, two PetSmart adoption centers (with animals supplied by local shelters, NOT bad animal places), the animal control adoption center, and the Animal Adoption & Rescue Foundation (AARF).

I was looking for two kittens that were young - baby to around 6 months old. I quickly realized that most people only want one cat, so it is often hard to adopt out siblings together. So, since I was already looking for two, I decided I wanted siblings because that would be good for the cats. We looked and looked and looked. I wanted short hair, and I kinnda really wanted an orange one, but they seem to be in high demand, so they were hard to find.

At AARF, a nice woman named Rebecca told me about several of her kittens that she is fostering in her home. She brought in a pair of brothers that are black and white, and a pair of sisters that are brown tabbys. I played with both pairs and just couldn’t decided if I wanted EITHER pair. She told me a little about their history, and it turns out the brothers (4-5 months) are REALLY attached to each other, and she would love to see them go home together. So, that made me pick the boys over the girls, but I still wasn’t convinced.

So today we went to a couple of adoption fairs and the humane society again. The first two places didn’t really have anything that interested me, so we went to the adoption fair held by AARF.

It was a NIGHTMARE! That made the decision soooo much harder because there were SEVERAL pairs of siblings, and they were all so cute and so sweet!

After half an hour of cuddling all these kittens, I was down to two pairs - the black and white brothers I had seen earlier in the week and a pair of brothers that were 8 weeks old. They were so tiny and adorable and kept purring and kissing me! They were medium-haired, and one was black and the other was orange (like I’d been wanting)!

So now I had a tough choice. And I must have deliberated for another half hour, LOL! I asked the foster moms of both pairs as well as some of the other foster moms. And AJ and I discussed it a great deal. And the general consensus was that the two little bitty ones would get adopted since they were so small, but it is harder to adopt kittens that are closer to the black and white ones age. The little bitty ones were also so young that even though they kept flopping all over each other and curling up together, they would probably be just fine to be adopted separately. The black and white ones really needed to go together.

So I’m taking them!

At this point, I was worried since I didn’t have an immediate reaction to them (the “you’re supposed to be mine!” feeling). But after talking with everyone, they said that would come with time once we got to know each other. And in all honesty, this will be best for the cats, because they really should go home together.

So, here is a picture from their foster mom and a little excerpt from her email when she was first telling me about them:

“I’m attaching photos of Jacques and Philipe. They are both short haired, black and white. They are about 4-5 months old. Both are very affectionate, playful and they love each other. Jacques is the more outgoing of the two, but they are both very social. Philipe is a water baby. The other day my husband turned on the shower and left the room. When he returned and opened the curtain, Philipe was standing in the shower! Today, my husband was taking a soaking bath and Philipe was sitting on the side of the tub with his front feet in the water. He is so cute about it.”

They aren’t responding to their names yet, so I will be changing them. They’re at just the right age to be neutered, so the foster mom has an apointment for them to get neutered on Tuesday and I will pick them up and bring them home on Thursday! I have all week to get the apartment kitten-proofed and finish getting ready (I have most everything I need except for food, litter, and a couple of carriers).

So that is my big news, and I am so completely thrilled! Of course, there will be more pictures of my babies (and new names) once I get them, so be on the lookout. I am SO excited!!! Merry Christmas to me! And thank you Mama and Daddy!!!!!

Also, all advice for this first-time cat owner is appreciated !

Sidenote: While we were looking for me, AJ fell in love with another kitten. Her brother has already been promised to a family, so they are going to try to get the family to adopt her as well, but if they say they only want the brother, then little Ana is going home with AJ . . . sigh, he’ll have three cats then!