Travis got my Christmas present early, and said it's my duty to write and introduce Gus. And might I just add that although we now have a cat, this in no way puts us into the category of "cat people." We fully intend on adding to the furry friends once we have a yard and a bigger place.
We adopted Gus from a no-kill shelter that brings in pets weekly to one of our stations at work in hopes of finding homes faster for them. The cats in the facility live in a giant communal cat-room, and out of the 50+ cats begging to be pet we ended up taking Gus home.
With his black mustache, my parents and co-workers thought his name should be Adolph or Hitler. But we decided that since he doesn't hate Jews, Gus it is.
He's super fluffy, with wild curly whiskers that get stuck in his ears and nose, causing him to sneeze. He took care of his right eyebrows by sniffing a candle on our coffee table already. He kept getting stuck in the couch, and didn't mind at all when we trimmed his claws to fix the problem. The greatest thing about this cat, is his shedding is unnoticeable.
We don't have to worry about him finding trouble when we're not home, because his favorite thing to do is just laying around. If anyone sits on the couch their lap is fair game to him, and he never passes up an opportunity. When he's relaxed, he crosses his eyes and drops his jaw so we can see all of his teeth and tongue. It's pretty creepy.
He's getting braver, but for the first few days we had him he was terrified of the furnace and would run and jump into the bathtub whenever it came on. I'm not really sure why the tub registered to him as the safest place in the house.
In other updates, Travis and I are very excited to be going to Portland for Christmas even though we won't have much time to enjoy it. We should be getting our place tickets for South America this week as well, and are eagerly planning that trip.
Thanksgiving was wonderful, and it was great to have my family come and visit. We had a great meal and got to go out to Antelope Island for an afternoon. We also enjoyed the lights at Temple Square, and my dad got to show off the true "Mormon Hub" (as he calls it) to the foreign exchange student Orm, a sweet girl from Thailand. She was very impressed with the lights and decorations, and bought a few ornaments to send home to her family.
I applied for a job with the AP, and should be hearing an official word this week, although one of the reporters I worked with in the legislature last year said he thinks I've got it. It would be a great opportunity, to say the very least.
Our ward Christmas party is over, and all together now... WOO HOO! The food and entertainment was great, and a little over 150 people came. Travis and Joey Guertz did a break dance routine and had Santa join them for the last little bit. It was a great introduction for the big man.
We look forward to seeing everyone soon. Happy holiday-ing until then!
