Love Seat

 I was slammed with lots of extra projects for my job at my church these last couple of months, but basically everything is done now which feels so good!  The biggest project I had was putting together a new pictorial directory.  I've accomplished all that I can on it.  Now I'm just waiting for paper to be ordered so we can get them printed and into people's hands.  I'm honestly really proud of it.  I've been losing my excitement for it though since my part was done 2 weeks ago.  This waiting is difficult for me, especially because part of what I was proud of was how quickly I accomplished this major task and because my goal of when I thought we would be handing them out doesn't seem possible anymore.  Oh well.

I haven't taken new pictures of the hamsters yet, but that's okay since I haven't posted some of the pictures I have already taken, like these.  Doesn't Míriel look so dreamy next to these beautiful sheer curtains?  She's just so pretty!!

Elendil is pretty difficult to photograph, since he isn't very food motivated.  I've been seeing him so much more often than I used to which makes me so happy.  He's such a precious little guy!!

Table

 Life has been busy, and I haven't prioritized posting any blogs.  I've struggled to want to share my blog posts on social media because there is just so much garbage on there all the time now.  That actually used to help motivate me for a while because I wanted my sweet hamsters, cats, plants, and photography work to be able to be a bright spot for people in the midst of the doom and gloom that is social media.  But now social media has managed to get even worse that I can't bring myself to be posting on there.  I feel like that would be encouraging people to stay on those sites, and I just don't see the value in that anymore.  So I think if my blogs are going to continue, they will officially become separate from social media.  That probably means even fewer people will see them than before when I shared them regularly on Facebook and Instagram.  But I'm okay with that.  The writing is cathartic for me.  And thinking that no one reads this gives me a sense of freedom to let go of any facade I tried to maintain before.  

Míriel is getting old.  I'm starting to see it.  I haven't checked recently to see how old she is because I am not sure I want to face the possibility that she's closing in on the end of her life.  She has so much spunk and personality.  She's so entertaining and I just love her so much.  Honestly, I think losing her and Elendil will hit harder than many of the previous hamsters.  These two are so amazing.  I don't spend nearly as much time as I should.  And that gets straight to the heart of why I'm so desperately wanting to stay in denial that she's getting older.  She's dear to me, and yet I don't spend enough time showing her that.  I'm gonna change that though.  💗

I don't see Elendil nearly as much as I'd like.  He's never gotten as tame as I'd hoped.  He's fine once I've caught him, but he doesn't like being caught.  He brings me so much joy whenever I see him though and I really could use more joy in my life.  So I'm going to make the choice to spend more time with him and getting him more tame.  I adore the little guy and I want him to feel that warmth and love from me.  💙

White Blanket

I feel the pull of spring creeping closer as the days are getting longer and the weather is slowly starting to have more and more warmer days mixed in.  But the nights are still ridiculously cold, and I'm thankful for soft blankets to cuddle under.

I've already had Míriel for over a year which is honestly so surprising to me.  She's still as crazy as the day I got her.  But I appreciate that she is a good little model for me.  😊

Elendil had no interest in modeling for me, and I barely got these pictures.  Instead he wanted to burrow through the blanket.  He's ridiculously good at creating tunnels.  I love seeing the network of tunnels that he has in his tank.  I do feel guilty whenever I'm cleaning and have to destroy his hard work, but he quickly rebuilds them.  

Love

I took some cute pictures of the hamsters in honor of Valentine's Day.  😊  I think that if Míriel were in a relationship, her partner would be overwhelmed with the amount of attention that Míriel demands day and night.  She also seems to have a bit of an attitude problem, often biting things that she shouldn't (like my fingers or the cute knit blanket on the bed for example).  She's very opinionated and has no shame in loudly voicing her opinions.  But in spite of her many flaws, she is super cute, loyal to those she knows, and incredibly entertaining.  I love her so much!

I think if Elendil were in a relationship, he'd be the one to quietly sneak away from every gathering without even saying goodbye.  He'd always prefer to stay in rather that go out.  And while he'd quickly express his discontent in many situations, it would be under his breath and easy to miss.  But despite his flaws, he's utterly adorable, has the gentlest soul, and would never bite you.  I love him so much!

Winter Break

Today is the first really chill day Joe and I have had since Winter Break started.  Our main plan for today is to play board games.  But before we get into all that, I just wanted to take a quick moment to post these pictures.  

Míriel really does such a good job posing with costumes on.  They truly don't seem to bother her at all.  She may be very opinionated about literally everything else in her life, but she's chill when it comes to being a model, which I definitely appreciate about her.  Haha!

With the shorter days, I am able to catch more and more of Elendil already up running on his wheel before we go to bed.  He's definitely not as good as Míriel at being a model and none of the costumes I have come anywhere close to fitting him, but he is such a good boy.  

Santa Hams

 It's almost Christmas!  We have a lot going on, and I'm admittedly feeling like I'm barely keeping it all together.  Joe has been a massive help, but I still feel bad that I didn't plan better and that I need this much help.  I'm looking forward to having more time to relax and enjoy Christmas Break with him next week.  Also, we decided to just do white lights this year instead of colored and I'm in love!!  We probably won't be going back to the others again because I like this look so much better!

Míriel was an absolute gem!  I couldn't believe how easy she was to photograph with the hat on.  Isn't just amazing??!?!  I love her so much even if her personality is sometimes too big for such a small body.

Elendil is such a little sweetheart!  I didn't have a hat that really fit him, but we kinda made it work by just balancing it on his head.  I absolutely just love this little guy so much!