Zach and I are doing well. :)

So! An update. It's been a while, yes.

Zachary and I are now living together. Fun! It's been a busy summer filled with physical turmoil and illness, a relationship that has grown a bit stronger, and sadness in leaving the home that was co-crafted by my roommate Ruth. Quite a bit has happened.

One side of our living room. I need to get a new computer desk. (My things are in boxes.)

As you know from previous blog entries, I had been dealing with some fairly serious digestive issues. After fighting off a H.pylori bacterial infection in my stomach, a burst internal hemorrhoid, and shortness of breath caused by acid reflux...I now seem to be stabilised. The acid reflux, however, may last for a long while. A change in diet (no/less acidity, no spicy...ugh) is helping, and I've got dietary fibre pulsing through me now. Hah. Things are very regular. So that's good.

Our bedroom is HUGE. I love love love it.

I love this man like no other. When Zach walks into a room, my internal self begins singing joyful music. He adds so much to my happiness, subtracts from my sadness, and life is just so much more enjoyable having him involved in it. I'm so happy that we met. And now living with him is exactly what I knew it was going to be like — he provides so much comfort, warmth, and laughter into my life.

Our new apartment is pretty kick-ass, too. The only hindrance we really have at the moment is that our dishwasher causes a breaker to flip...shutting off all power in the living room. We've already had a technician come in to look at it, and the only suggestion he could come up with was to remove all electronics plugged into a particular outlet in the corner of the living room. But that didn't work.

I love that Little Rock has so many trees everywhere!

I unplugged both surge protectors — mind you, there's not much plugged in when it comes to electronics in the living room — ran the dishwasher, and it still flipped a breaker. There's some screwy wiring at play here, I believe. This shouldn't be happening. I'm gonna put in a new maintenance request soon to get this figured out (though this should have been solved before we moved in...) We've still got a few more things to get moved in and settled in here, but we're almost done. We finally have a trash bin! LOLs.

It saddens me greatly to have left the roost that Ruth and I created. But it was time. Many months ago, I was beyond ready to finally move in with Zach. Ruth is a human being like no other I've known — she's resilient, strong, enduring, nurturing, bold, and one fairly badass chef. I already miss her so much. I'm not sure she understands just how important she has been in my life. My sister, my protector...the one who kept me going when I didn't feel like continuing. I owe her everything. I owe her my life. I'm eternally grateful for all that she has done for me. And now I'm crying.

Sisters. Always. <3

In leaving my home for a new one, I also left behind two furry loves that I know Ruth and Phillip will tend to with love — Juno and Gigi. I vastly miss them as well. Juno and Gigi were there to help me recover from the loss of my sweet boy of 15 years...T.C. They definitely made life more manageable having them scurry around in my own. I'm going to miss seeing them every day that I come home from work. :(

I do have two new kitties to give love to, however. Ty and Keri. Keri is an absolute doll with the most adorable little "murr" when she gets hungry, and Ty is just a lovable monster. He's sweet, but goodness, he can be a handful. He's also a bit injured right now. Poor lil' guy — I took him to the vet this morning, had an x-ray done, and we've discovered that he has a genetic "weak hip." His left side doesn't fully sit properly in its socket, and he recently got himself into a bind that we think loosened his leg from the hip. He's currently resting next to me in the floor as I write this blog entry, and he's still the tiniest bit loopy from being sedated earlier. He is a sweet boy, though. I don't like seeing furry family members hurt. It breaks my heart. :(

Keri and Ty (this is their album cover.)

Work hasn't changed much other than having a new specialty ASM — who's focus I completely disagree with. I'm still very upset that our previous ASM moved to a different part of the store. Bleh. :/

How can you not love this furry monster?? (photo courtesy of Ruth)

But yes, that's pretty much been my summer. One of the absolute worst that I've gone through in my life — plagued with physical illness after illness and being emotionally torn from the house that built me over the last two and half years. Of course, the highlights are my flourishing relationship with Zachary, and my supporting sister, Ruth, and our furry kitties. But yeah, the stomach and digestive issues and stress have really worn me down this year. And I didn't even get any good pool time this year! Bah!

And I miss my family. There's also that. I wish they would just come around.

Be good, do good. Love.