Everybody Wants to be a Cat!

Many of you already know this, but some may not. I will explain anyways. 

My Gramma Paukert and I volunteer at my local animal shelter, Crossroads Animal Shelter. When we volunteer we do the best job. . .TLC- Tender Loving Care. Yes,  yes it is terribly tiring and hard to pet, play with and love so many kittens puppies! We volunteer after school every other week, although, recently we have been going more often (I'm not complaining). 

Today was one of our volunteer days, and there are a few friends I'd like to introduce you to!
Okay, they are not actual people, but they make for good company! 


All of these cats are available for adoption
 ( here is the animal shelter's email address: http://crossroadsshelter.org/confirmation-required?u=d476b9f6dd3aa74b6c6c91826205948a ). 

First one's up! This beautiful girl is Elsie (El-see). She is a domestic short-hair, and an absolute sweetheart! I am in love with her! She has two different colored eyes (one blue, one green) and two extra toes! She is a whole lot of unique! She is three years old, and amazing. However, she is quite shy, but she warmed up to me pretty quickly, so I have hope for this kitten. If you ever visit Crossroads, I highly suggest giving this girl some thought! 

Next we have a curious batch of kittens! I honestly melted a little bit when we played with these quads. The orange tabby's name is Cinnamon. He is just a bundle of energy, and enjoyed bossing his siblings around. The orange kitten with white on his feet (the kitten I am petting), his name is Charm, his name goes with his brother, Lucky. Lucky is the gray tabby (who had quite the interest in gramma). And last but, not least is Cheerio. The only girl among her tabby brothers. She is a Tabico (Tabby-calico) and colored patches all over her pelt. She was very zany and spunky! She made me laugh quite a bit! These kittens were a bundle of fun, that's for sure!

And last, but not least, is Blaze. My soul mate. 

He is a three-year-old domestic short-hair. He was a little skittish at first, but, like Elsie, he warmed up to me, very quickly. I played with him the longest, and first. The ladies at the shelter had just gotten him in, and he was still afraid of being around all the other cats. We sat on my lap, and I just petted him, and he chewed on my Converse. It was just meant to be! Gramma Rosendahl, Auntie Lisa; if you're reading this, I have a new item on my Christmas list! On a side note, if you decided to adopt him, I wouldn't be that mad*. 


I really love volunteering at the shelter, and can't wait to return on Friday! Please pray for this cats, and all the cats and dogs at the shelter that they find good homes! I really love them all! And if anyone is looking to adopt and needs help finding a pet Crossroads is a no-kill shelter, that is doing good for the animals and their volunteers, on a side note- I would be happy to help you find the perfect pet! I have been doing this for two years, so I think I would suffice. :) 

More to come! 

*note the sarcasm. 

Let's Go to the Movies!

Yesterday, my Gramma Rosendahl and Auntie Lisa came over to celebrate Maddy's birthday. Maddy got lots of presents from the two, more than half having a Minions theme. 

The fan-favorite was definitely the "pink fluffy unicorn". A stuffed unicorn replicated from the Despicable Me movies. Maddy screamed when she opened the bag. Gramma, you definitely hit a home run on that one!

After we had birthday pie and ice cream, we sat around, not really doing anything in particular.  Dad - as you know - is a move aficionado, and suggested we see a movie. All of us being movie fanatics ourselves agreed. Gramma, Ben, Dad and I went. Maddy couldn't go, Lisa had to work early in the morning, and mom had to pick up Libby from her friends house, so the Four Musketeers set out. 

(Daddy Warbucks is mom. . .)

The movie we decided to see (which I was excited about) was The Huntsman: Winter's War. The plot was a sequel to some other Snow White movie, I guess, I don't know! Anyways, I thought it was excellent, some thought not, but, I enjoyed it! 

Emily Blunt brought forth quite a few tears from me. . . What? She's a good actress! Don't judge me!

Those Days

Today is just one of those days.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Today, as many of you already know, is Madeline's birthday! She turned seven years old today, and she couldn't be happier! 

She woke up this morning with a the biggest grin on her face! She ran into my room at seven this morning and jumped on me to wake me up. I wanted to be mad at her, that was my first thought, but then I remembered that today was her big day, and I caught her contagious smile. 

She got quite the hoard of gifts this morning. I would list them all, but I know that she'd rather tell you herself. We are going to Applebee's for dinner as soon as Maddy and her girlfriends are done at the nail salon!


Maddy brightens my day, everyday! From her tiny giggle to her ratted hair, I can always find something to smile about  with that girl. I'm smiling just writing this post! 

Maddy and I have never really fought, we have some-what of a common enemy. . . Maddy and I like to have our own secret meetings and societies when Lib or Ben is being a little salty*. I look out for her, and she looks out for me. She is one of my best friends, not to mention a wonderful little sister. She's adorable, hilarious, and intelligent, with a prodigious heart, and an award winning smile! 

Maddy, you brighten my day! Happy birthday, baby girl! 

* Meaning snappy, mean, ornery.

Best Day of My Life ~ American Authors

These past few days have been some of the Best Days of My Life! And very eventful! I will start with what I am proudest of . . Oliver's First Communion!

My cousin Oli, a second grader, made his First Communion and became a part of the bigger picture of the church family! I am extremely proud of him, and had a fun time watching him receive Jesus' body and blood. Not to mention he looked very handsome in his purple zip-on tie. He also had the honor of reading a petition in front of the whole congregation! He did a very good job, and even remembered to genuflect!

I love Oliver and am so very, very proud of him! Oli, I hope you grow in your faith and love Jesus and those around you every day of your life. Congratulations Oliver!

Secondly, was my very first track meet. I joined the middle school track team at the beginning of this month. I am very excited to be apart of the team, and am enjoying it quite a bit. The events I chose for this meet were the Long Jump and the 100m Hurdle. I have always had an interest in hurdling, and have not tripped over the hurdle and fallen yet! So, yay for me! At the next meet I plan on doing Discus and Shot Put. 

I ran the 100m Hurdles in 22:35 seconds, and my Long Jump was 10.1 feet. I got sixth place* in the Long Jump for the whole meet, and got 10th place in the Hurdles! I am very proud of myself! I did not finish last, which was my only goal, and many of my friends placed in their events! It has been a successful week so far! More to come, stay tuned!

*woot woot

All By Myself - Eric Carmen

~Wow. I have so much to say, I don't know where to start! 

Ok, let's try by starting in November. . . (*initiate flashback*)

Around mid-November my throat had started to hurt something awful. I would go to sleep at night and wake up early in the morning having a hard time breathing my throat hurt so bad! I was always tired, my head was killing me and all signs pointed to Strep Throat. I asked for mom to take me in for a throat culture. 

To be perfectly frank, I love going to the doctor. Now, you may think that I'm crazy (and you'd be right), but something about someone asking you questions about yourself and missing school appeals to me. Anyways, the doc said that my throat was "angry" and that my lymph nodes were swollen. All signs pointing to strep. I had had strep before, and this felt like it. 

Well, theyjabbed the cotton swab down my throat (which did not help with the pain) and we waited for the results of the test. 

I wanted it to be strep. I really did. "Just give the drugs for Pete's sake! I'm dying over here!" Was all that was running through my head the entire visit to the doctor. I could miss a day of school, it wouldn't kill me. 

We waited for what felt like a decennium before the doctor came back with the results. "Well miss Amanda, it's negative." My heart did the thing where it drops to your toes. Aw nuts. The doctor and mom talked about all the other possibilities and none of them seemed to fit. We left the hospital without any answers, which was ok because I wasn't  dying. I took an ibuprofen and was ok. For three hours. 

After a few days of constant orange juice and ibuprofen I complained louder to my mother, and she took me in again. 

The second time we went to the doctor they took blood. And let me tell about when they take your blood. It's not just a "pinch", it's a stabbing motion! I was just about sick getting the blood drawn! But, I survived. 

They were testing for Mononucleosis. The notorious "kissing disease". Out of all the other things I could be branded with, I did not want to be the girl with the-the kissing disease! As soon as I sat down in the chair in the lab to have my blood drawn, the nurse asked about a red spot I had on my arm. "You know, I had a rash like that on my back when I had mono," The nurse said. Oh goodie. 

Mom and I dragged ourselves back to the doctors office and waited for a long time before the doctor came in. "It's Mono." This time my heart dropped to my toes, not because I was disappointed because I didn't get to miss school, but because I was sick. 

The sinking feeling didn't stop after that either. Oh no, there is no cure for mono, you just suffer for weeks and live off of ibuprofen. Yay. The doctor went on to tell me how careful I had to be. I couldn't lift anything heavier than twenty pounds, no hard impacts (no fighting), I would even have to miss school to sleep (ok, the last one wasn't much of a bad thing)! The reason I had to be so careful was because since there wasn't any drugs they could give me to fight off the virus, my spleen was twice the size it normally is. If anything were to rupture it, it could kill me. That scared me enough. 

"You have one of the worst cases I've seen," The doctor said. Yippied! More for me! We went home, happy to have answers, but disappointed in the treatment options. I was texting my friends about the whole ordeal and why I wouldn't be in school for a few weeks. The first few friends I had very kind and very sympathetic, but when I got to my best friends, their texts started to look like this:

"Wait isn't that the kissing disease??? Lol omg you must get allll the guys XD!! Feel better pllayya! xD" 

First of all, I have not kissed anyone except for my relatives! I do not have a boyfriend! I do not go around kissing guys! We have no idea how I contracted it. Mom thinks I got it from the chalice at mass. I have no clue.

Let me tell you, I rolled my eyes so much that night that eye sockets were actually sore. As soon as we got home, the first thing I hear is."So, Amanda, what boys were you kissing?" Coming from the mouth of my father. And no, he was not joking. And yes, he was actually mad at me. My mom glared at him, which seemed to shut him up, and she explained everything to him while I plopped down on the sofa and slept. 

I soon found out that having Mono was not fun. Huge surprise there, I know. I couldn't do anything! When I wasn't sleeping, I wished I was! I was exhausted  almost every hour of the day. My throat felt massive, and I was running a constant fever. I lived off of a jug of Tropicana and Kemps. 

The only good part of being so sick was all the visitors and presents I got! It was incredible! Thanks to all of you who came and visited me! (Grandma, and Grandma, and Grandpa, and Grandma again, and Auntie, and my friends from school and Grandma, and Grandpa, and mommy. . .and probably more people but my memory is as bad as . . . Wait what was I saying? Oh never mind . ..) But when no one was visiting me I was All By Myself. 

It felt like an eternity until I got to go back to school. Can you believe that? I actually wanted to go back to school! I was really sick. The mountains of textbooks and worksheets was threatening to fall and trap me in its paper prison. 

Mom finally let me go back to school for half the day and I was so excited! I was not ready for the day, let's just say that. By the time lunch rolled around my best friend had to literally drag me to classes. When mom picked me up, I didn't return to school the next day.

My body was working so hard to kill the mono it forgot to give me energy! Ugh! The doctor said I would be at half energy for six months, roughly. Six months! That's a long time! I can't act at half energy! I can't go to Cross Fit at half energy! Well, I powered through and did the acting thing anyways. For those of you who don't know, I played Dorothy Gale in the Wizard of Oz Young Performers Edition, at S.O.S. I was very proud of myself for that accomplishment, but I was double worked. Somehow I got through it! School was another story. . .

Through out my half days, quarter days and random full days my grades managed to slowly slip. I was trying my hardest to concentrate, but it'd hard to focus when you're asleep. I would nod off in class and the teachers would send me to the nurse but,"I'm fine!" That became my catch phrase for at least two months. 

Not seeing my friends all the time killed me. I missed them so terribly it made my chest hurt. Knowing that they were laughing and having fun and sharing juicy gossip without me made me feel sick. I just wanted to be back in the middle of the action again. 

Unfortunately once I started to go to school regularly again they had moved on. In the short period of two weeks, they had formed new cliques and friendships that I wasn't apart of. Rumors had been spread about me, and I felt like a golden turd. 

However, my best friend rarely left my side, and for that I am very grateful. But the close friendships I had with the rest of the girls in my class was gone. They would go entire days without saying so much as a "hello" to me, and let me tell you, that's hard to do in a class of only sixteen students. It broke me, it really did. 

I am a social butterfly, I love when I can talk to someone or meet someone new, but that just wasn't happening and with my failing grades I fell into a semi-depressive state. Thankfully I am over that now, and have made stronger friendships, but it still haunts me how eager everyone was to leave me. My grades are getting better (still not straight A's, but I'm trying) as well as my mood (sometimes). 

But all was not well (yet). 

When I had been doing full days for a while, I was getting so over-worked that I would sleep or forget to eat and it was taking it's toll. One day I told my mom how exhausted I was (at nine am) and she picked me up. Kids at school would say things behind my back about how I wasn't really sick, and how I was just being a baby and should suck it up. Now that hurt worse than my throat every did. It was even worse when my friends would text me and ask where I was that day."I was at home sleeping."
". . .Oh."

"So how was your day?

No response. They didn't ask if I was ok, they didn't text me the homework, but oh well. It could be worse. 

Eventually things got much better and the nasty rumors stopped ( I hope) and I made new friendships and strengthened old ones. I am still struggling with my energy, and my dad likes to blame my laziness on Mono. "Oh, Andrea, she just has Mono! We can watch one more episode!"

"Want to see a movie?" "Todd! She is sick!" "Nah, it's just Mono." 

"Hey Mono mouth! Kiss any boys today?" ( I always smacked him when he said that one).

That's dad for you! 

Thank y'all for listening to my long sob story! If you read this far you get a high five and a Cheeto! Mono is a horrendous sickness, and please, don't go kissing me anytime soon! I mean that in the best way possible!

I hope you enjoyed my first real post! More to come on the Bees*~

*A nick name used by Grandpa R. 

We've Got Magic to Do!

Hello Krinke family enthusiasts! It's Princess A here to add some life to this dormant blog! 

I was sitting on the couch in our TV room, feeling terribly bored when Krinkeland Kids jumped into my mind and invaded my thoughts! I realized how much I missed writing on this blog, and am deciding to give it another go! After reading through my old posts, I realized that I needed to improve my writing skills. I hope writing for this blog will help improve my expansive vocabulary, and keep me entertained during my down time.

Well, I think I've covered the basics! Wish me luck!