Monday ~Thought For The Day...

When you’re important to another person, that person
 will always find a way to make time for you. 
No excuses. No lies. No broken promises...

When that person is really important to you remember,

 don't wait. The time will never be just right.....cease the moment.

Already Monday again.  This month has just zipped by us.  
Can’t believe the pool will be opening up next week for 
Memorial Weekend.  At least that’s the plan.  

Lots and lots of catching up to do this week.  Yes a very
 busy week awaits us.  That’s how it is.  Sniff is a happy
 boy and life is good. Let's get the week started!

Have a great day all!  As Steve Jobs said:

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped 

by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let 

the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice.  And most

 important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow

 already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.... 

~Nadiya~

Missing You...

It is hard to forget, when there is such an empty space now that 

you are gone.  It's just not the same without yo anymore...

Today makes 1 year and exactly 2 months since I last held my Brutus.  To this day my 

heart aches for him and misses him like crazy.  Not a day goes by that I don't think of him 

and wish he were here again.  Brutus, my one and only baby.  Now and forever.

There is nothing I can do to change what happened.  To this day I don't fully 

understand why my Brutus died.  If I could turn back the clock I ask myself what would

 I have done differently?  I don't know.  My Brutus was hurting and I was giving him 

pills after pills.  Maybe not wanting to acknowledge how much he was hurting.

  My heart will never be the same again.  I will never be the same again.

Today also is 10 months since our little Shadow died.  This I will never be able to forgive.

  He was just 4 months old.  Little Shadow never had the chance to grow up.  That

 day Shadow died I also lost my friend.  Maybe one day it will be better, 

not today.  My heart does not know how to stop hurting as yet.  

Yes, I have many good days thanks to little Sniff.  He is our little ray of sunshine. 

 We love him and he fills our life with excitement, laughter and fun. That 

being said, when Brutus died a part of my heart died as well.  

I miss him everyday. Some days more than others.  

It's been a long time without Brutus and Shadow,  Arvid rarely will talk about them

 but every so often he would tell me how much he misses Brutus.  Sometimes late at 

nights as we lay down to sleep Arvid would say, "you know today I thought a lot about Brutus. 

 He was our special boysie."  Then he would say, "do you think that Sniff knows we don't

 have the same bond with him as we did with Brutus?"  Maybe he does, but one thing

 is for sure, Sniff does not lack love nor attention.  He has that in spades from us.

Most days life goes on as usual.  There is nothing one can do about that.  You either 

keep moving otherwise you will most likely be trampled on.  Yes, life goes on, but in a 

little place in my heart there is and ache and grief for the loss of our Brutus that nothing

 nor no one will ever be able to erase.  He was more than a cat for us.  He was our baby.

Life goes on, but a part of me is missing and I have learned that no matter how

badly your heart is broken, the world does not stop for your grief.

Love and heartache do not define you.  They are a part of your story...

~Nadiya~

Kissing Day...???

I still remember the feeling I felt when we first kissed...

Not that i have heard of it before, but today is Kissing Day.

The question I ask, who have you kissed today?  Kiss is the first language of love that

 we understand.  I know that not a day would go by that I did not pick Brutus up and hug

 and kiss him.  When Shadow came along I did it, unfortunately it did not last long.  

Now I do it with Sniff everyday as well, and I tell him how much I love him.

The next 4 days Chicago hosts Taste of Chicago.  The largest food festival in the world.

Over the next few days over 1 million people will walk through the gates of Grant Park. 

 Best of all we can see it right from our balcony.  Hear the music and enjoy the sights.

That's all for now.  Going out to the balcony to enjoy the music and views.

Kissing is a means of getting two people so close together that they can't 

see anything wrong with each other.  Happy Kiss day...

~Nadiya~

Hello Saturday...

You don't always need a plan.  Sometimes you just need
 to breathe, trust,let go, and see what happens...

One of the best parts of my mornings is always seeing the sunrise either from the beach, 

our balcony or just about anywhere, because as far as I am concerned the sunrise 

no matter where you are is as beautiful.  Unique in its own way. Same goes for

 sunsets.  Beautiful no matter where you are. It makes me happy every time.

This was this mornings sunrise from our balcony as I enjoyed my morning cafe, and had

 some time with Sniff Sniff before Arvid woke up.  Always a good start to any day.

Last night as we came home I was greeted by the moon.  Tonight is full moon,

 but last night's was quite impressive as well.  Taking a picture of anything at night is 

not something I do well, but even so I took quite a bit hoping for at least one good one.

Even I have to admit that they came out pretty good.  Hope to get more tonight.

Yesterday we spent a few hours enjoying scenery, good drinks and some very good chicken
wings at Flip Flops.  Hopefully tomorrow we will go there again.  It's not fancy, but what
we had yesterday combined with the scenery makes it already another of our favorite hangouts.

Sniff is having his morning nap.  One of many.  The fact that he slept all night does
 not seem to bother him at all.  Ahhh the life of a cat.  Stress free, worry free and relaxing.
  Add to that all the love he gives to us and we to him, I have to say life is good.

To all a very good Saturday.  Seems like the dark clouds are rolling in, I'm sure it will
be a good day no matter what.  At least I will be positive and make it good.
Remember life is a onetime offer, so make sure we use it well.

The way that I live my life is on spontaneity.  There is something you must always remember.
 you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think..

~Nadiya~