There is no such thing as a free kitten...

or puppy for that matter. If someone says to you "hey, want a free kitten?" The appropriate response is "there is no such thing as a free kitten." Why do I bring this up. First, because it is true. Second, because in the veterinary world it is "baby season." We see all kinds of puppies and kittens in the early summer. That means lots of people asking, how much does it cost for vaccines? What does it cost to spay my cat? Do I really HAVE to do all that stuff? Why would I spend all that money on the cat? It was free! My favorite response/request lately... "The cat was free and I don't really want to pay that much. Can I make an offer, or will you price match if I can find it cheaper someplace else?" um... thanks, but no. If you can find it cheaper, go there. No, we don't price match, we are not Best Buy willing to sell it to you for the printed add price of our competitors. We are not a car dealership, our only offer is pay our price, or we don't do it.

This may sound a little harsh. But it really is a simple fact of life in the veterinary industry. It will cost a price for us to do it, and yes, we do expect to be paid when we do it. Can you go to Cub and ask if you can get groceries today, but not pay for a few weeks because you are going on vacation? Do you ask the gas station if you can make an offer or price match if you find it for less in Iowa? I guess, maybe some people do try....

Back to my point.... cost of cat litter, food and various supplies aside, there are very few times when a free cat is really free. Kind of like free lunch...no such thing. Most cats will encounter a vet visit at some time in their life....just because you didn't pay to get the cat doesn't mean it is free for life.

It's already the end of June...

So, we are currently at 17 days until our Relay For Life. That's cool, except we still don't have a DJ. I am also only about half way to my fundraising goal. It is starting to get a little stressful. It is kind of like when you are planning a wedding, or any big event really. The only difference for me, is I had big things like the DJ and Caterer taken care of well before 2 weeks prior to the event.

I am working very hard at not being stressed. I guess the nice thing is there is only 17 days left to be stressing.

I am pretty sure Micah is a Genius

Our niece, Micah, turned 2 at the end of March. I am pretty sure she is smarter than the average 2 year old. Of course, having no children and no other nieces or nephews (yet) I have nothing to base this on. Sure, I may be a tad biased.

Over the past few months, we have made it a point to visit Micah and her parents about once a week. Every time we visit Micah runs to door excited that Ni-ko Nick is there. (she says hi to me too) From there, the "LOOK!" and show us whatever happens to have her excited starts.

Friday Nick and I were going to the Relay For Life in Woodbury. Micah lives between my work and the park it was in. So we stopped for a visit. When I got there, Ni-ko Nick was already there. I walked into Micah telling us that Chesh-er says woof woof and that Mem-itt says meow meow. Neither Chester or Emmitt were there, but she remembers being at our house and Chester and Emmitt being there. She also knows most of her colors. She does insist if she said it was blue, it is.

The stories could go on and on, but I will just leave it at, she is a genius!

Wii love it!

It's been a month. I know, I have been a very neglectful blogger. I do apologize for that. After we got back from Florida there was so much going on to blog about, and things that took priority over blogging, that it became a daunting task. Then there was so much to blog about....I felt overwhelmed. So, here we are, clean slate. Ready to blog!

Shortly after receiving the Wii for our birthday's, Nick was "allowed" to set it up. I called dibs on the first game. I played around a bit with making a Mii and the sports package that comes with it. Nick went out buy a game we agreed on and controller. $100 later he came back with Lego's Star Wars and a controller. He did let me play the first round. It didn't take too long to figure out where I was going and what I was doing. Having never before owned a game system, and played very little, it did take some practice. Nick was very patient and did not tell me what I should be doing. I finished the first level! It didn't take long for me to beat episode 1. It was with in the first few days that Nick finished about twice as much as I did. It has remained that way since.

Tonight I accomplished quite a bit of coin collecting and achieving "true Jedi" and other fun things. I do really like the game. We have 2 other games, plus the sports package. We have played the other games very little.

We have had some friends over and have played the sports a little bit. Thats about it though.