Exploration

Happy Monday!  I let this little guy explore a bit which he seemed pretty happy to do.  I'm pretty happy that the weather has been staying warmer, the flowers are blooming, and the days are longer!  I love springtime!  😊

I really love how much natural light fills my home thanks to these big windows!  

Easter!

Happy Easter!  Doesn't Vilya look SO cute in those little bunny ears?!?!  He kinda froze after I put them on him which made it super easy to get pictures of him.  Hahaha!  I was initially nervous about putting jellybeans so close to him because I didn't want him to snatch one, but that wasn't an issue.  😊

Happy Monday

Happy Monday!  Vilya is helping me out this week by being super cute!  But seriously, this week is gonna be a bit crazy, so I'm actually gonna need to evict the hamster and get that mug filled with coffee.  😊

I am motivated by clean, fresh spaces to work in.  I have a bulletin board in my office that I hang prints of my wonderful pets as well as selfies of my husband and I.  It came to my attention that this board was desperately needing to updated (poor Kira wasn't on it yet and we've had her a year), so I changed out about 50% of the old pictures for new ones.  If you look behind Vilya, you can see one of the old pictures that I had to leave.  That's my favorite picture of Tarcil and Penny.  😊

Cat Hammock

I got this window cat hammock for our fat orange cat, Kira.  I wasn't sure it would hold her, or that she would use it, but it works, and she loves it!  I kicked her out so that Vilya could give it a try.  He seemed to like it.  :)

Purple Orchid and Other Plants

I really love orchids!  I have 3 right now.  This purple one and my white one are taking turns blooming every few months, so I get to see these lovely flowers year round.  My other one is a yellow one that is still trying to recover from the trauma our cat Kira inflicted on it by repeatedly knocking it over.  Thankfully, that's the only plant that was abused by her when we first got her about a year ago.  I've got her trained enough now that she knows I don't want her messing with my plants.  Obviously, because she's a cat, she still messes with my plants, but now she's more gentle about it and only does it to annoy me or get my attention.

I seriously can't get over how adorable Vilya looks!!  😍

Pink Carnations

I want to start by thanking you all for kind words and prayers for me last week after losing both Nenya and Narya.  I certainly miss them, and I think Vilya probably does too.  The office is quieter and suddenly seems much larger.  To answer a question I've been asked: no, I am not getting any new hamsters yet.  Vilya is old, and I want to focus on spoiling him for however long he has left.  I am also considering only keeping one hamster at a time from now on.  As much as I'd LOVE to fill my house with all the cute, furry animals, I am continuing to get busier, and I don't want more pets than what I have time to give proper attention to or money to financially support.  In other words, adulting sucks.  Hahaha!

Anyways, I really did enjoy having a photo session with just Vilya.  He was way more calm than he normally is.  I'm sure some of that is because he is getting older, but I really think it was mostly because he can't see, smell, or hear the ladies anymore.  I also noticed that now that he is by himself, I suddenly find myself wanting to call him Tarcil, so naturally I'm also recalling lots of great memories of Tarcil.  It's sad that their lives are so short, but each of them have brought me and many others so much joy and for that, I am grateful.  💗

Comforter (RIP Narya and Nenya)

These pictures are all about a month old.  Nenya doesn't look this good anymore.  I am glad I have SO many pictures of her that capture her bright-eyed, spunky self.  She may have lost some of her sass, but she still gets around and is getting so spoiled with treats every day.  ❤

I am once again editing this post to provide an update:

Nenya passed away this morning (Friday).  I knew she didn't have long left.  I got her on April 2, 2017, so I've had her for nearly 2 years.  It's crazy how fast that time went by.  I am so glad I have so many pictures and wonderful memories to cherish of my silly girl.  She had a huge personality for such a small creature.   She wasn't very easy to photograph unless she had food because she was always on the move.  She was also the most destructive hamster I've had thus far, though she never managed to escape.  She loved attention, and if I scraped my nail on the mesh window of her tub, she would come running to be held.  I'm gonna miss her so much!  She was fat, fluffy, and so sassy!  ❤

I don't normally do this, but I have a very unfortunate update for you, so I have edited this post.

It hurts to share this news with you all, but my sweet, perfect little Narya has passed away. It's definitely a big shock to me. She seemed fine and didn't show her age at all, unlike how Nenya has been recently (who is not doing well, but still alive). I noticed Tuesday morning that Narya hadn't touched her food bowl during the night. I checked her nest and found her curled up, asleep forevermore. Her 2nd birthday would have been in three weeks on April 9th. I adopted her from The Pipsqueakery on May 29, 2017. She was formerly known as Cinnamon and some of her more notable siblings are Eugene and Butternut.

Narya was seriously such a perfect little model! It didn't matter what she was doing, she always looked so glamorous doing it! I'm gonna miss her so much! She was my tiny, precious little girl. ❤️

I am pretty sure Vilya was trying to chew a hole through my comforter.  Not cool man!  Hahaha!