Sipping on the sidelines

One day I had a craving (says every woman).

I had wanted tacos for a meal for probably a good week and a half. Fish tacos, specifically. But with the new house and summer activities, Devin and I just didn't have time for a detailed dinner. Finally we had an available evening, and Devin whipped up some yumminess. You just wait and see.

Putz in a box

She enjoyed the early stages of unpacking after the move to Omaha.

Have you ever seen Simon's Cat on YouTube? It was either my former boss or a former co-worker who shared it with the office one day.

Simon's Cat is a series of cartoony videos that portray random behaviors that make cats so awesome. One video, "The Box," has always stuck out to me because the portrayal fits our cat perfectly.

Nap time.

Empire, or Putz, as she's now more commonly known, has an obsession with boxes...and bags for that matter. I'm sure most cats do, but we get a total kick out of her. I swear she would spend her whole day boxed up if we provided her food in one.

Spending time with Devin's sister's hamster, Missy.

She takes naps in them, chews on them and spits out little cardboard pieces, plays "I'm undercover and I'm gonna scare the crap outta you when you walk by" and even crawls in one at night like it's her bed.

Really, she'll claim anything box-like as her own. If she judges the item as too small because she's only able to squeeze her head into it (like a 12-pack box), she will then plop herself on top of it.

In the purse.

Bringing bags home from the grocery store is like heaven for her. She pretty much tries to crawl in them before we get a chance to set them down. She can't resist. Any female visitor who leaves an open purse on the floor is giving her an open invitation to rummage through it before she rests on top with her front paws tucked inside.

Putz claimed the box as soon as the shoes were removed.

I mentioned she sleeps in a box? It's true. Recently, Devin's mom stayed with us, and she had two pairs of new shoes...still in the shoe boxes. Putz scored double that day. She has since chewed off one corner of each of them, essentially breaking the boxes, but she still uses them as beds. One is on top of a dresser next to the window where she begins her sleeping routine at night. At some point she often makes her bed on my legs until morning.

Note the chewed upper right corner.

Maybe she just needed a little more room?

Putz retreats to enjoy a weekend sunrise in her bed after I wouldn't feed her before 6 a.m.

Such an odd creature. But she will crawl out of her box and be sprawled out on the floor in front of the door, just waiting for a belly rub, when I get home. I treasure this because that's about all the petting I'll be allotted the rest of the night.

Here's to having someone (or something) waiting to greet you at home at the end of the day. Maybe we should curl up in the chair and enjoy some vino while we wait for Devin to come home. What do you say, Putz? *Cheers*

He likes Gray's Anatomy; I like Grey's Anatomy. But we both like vino!

The scientist

The media queen

About as close as I come to a lab. Not exactly McDreamy, is he?

Devin and I are pretty different individuals. He's an athlete who always pushes himself and strives to better his health. I'm a retired "athlete" with little ambition to exercise. He's a science guy with a love for physi-bio-chema stuff and all the big words, Bunsen burners and bacteria that come with it. I chose a slightly more creative route of newspaper ink, airwaves and B-roll footage. It's Gray's versus Grey's. He's a bungee jumping wannabe skydiver, and I'm a tall girl who gets pretty freaked if I look down from 10 feet up.

You get the idea.

The wish for a fish

This weekend I made an excellent discovery. I was going through old photos when I found some of Devin and me from our 2009 Yankton fishing trip. I remember it being a long day of little fish activity, so I started taking photos instead.

"Far from Normal"

It's been several months since I tweeted about completing yet another video, and most people didn't understand what I was really working on. I meant to share Wayne State College's centennial website for some time now since we launched it in September. Since that time, I have posted all the videos I have made from interviews taking place over the last several years. I've also compiled numerous photo galleries for every decade.

Sniffing out some shots

I really don’t get along well with any season. In the spring, the budding plants make me sneeze. In summer it’s usually hot and buggy…and the extreme grass mowing activities make me sneeze. Autumn is by far the worst because, well, falling leaves irritate my little nose. And after this year, don’t even get me started on the weather and the host of health issues I experience in winter, mostly because of real Christmas trees brought indoors.

In an attempt to make peace with the inevitable, I take photos of the seasonal sights. It’s part of my job to photograph the college’s grounds and buildings throughout the seasons for brochures, posters, online use and historical purposes, and I consider that my favorite part.