Daisy and award

This weekend has been kind of long and dreadful. It was the first week of my company's massive pay cut. When I saw my paycheck on Saturday morning, I almost fainted. Seriously. I don't know how I'm going to pay the rent this month. It's not like I have a rich boyfriend to fall back on, like I had always planned. I had to fall in love with the struggling musician. And I had to become a journalist (a notoriously low-paying career). I really screwed myself over, didn't I?

Anyway, my weekend did have a couple highlights. I had a Girls Night In with Kerrie (even though she was sick) and had lunch with Meredith at my favorite pizza place. Yay!

And my parents finally got a new lovebird! She is only seven weeks old, which makes her a baby. She's a lot different than Lily (our former lovebird who passed away a few weeks ago). This bird is named Daisy and she is a polite little lady. She doesn't bite (she wouldn't DREAM of it) and she is very quiet. She also likes to snuggle with people (something Lily would never be caught doing). Daisy is also very picky with her food. Lily ate everything we fed her, but Daisy is kind of a food snob. She only likes certain breads and wants nothing to do with fatty foods like potato chips. She also likes being petted, which delights my parents. If we ever tried to pet Lily, she would have made our hands bleed.



She is also a rare form of lovebird. Her father was a masked lovebird and her mother was like Lily. The combination made for a lovely shade, didn't it?

We're all very happy with her and excited to get to know her even better in time.

More happy news: Jane St. Clair over at Little Violet Dress gave me this fabulous award.



Jane is one of my favorite bloggers and every time I read her blog, I truly feel like I have just seen her in "real life." She has this great, casual way of writing that is like a conversation and has a personality that just jumps off the screen.

I am going to pass this award on to the following five inspirational blogs:

Fashion Layne
Tayler is fabulous and posts the most breathtaking images and quotes. I don't know how many times I have written a reminder to myself to look back at one of her posts, because of a look I want to emulate from one of her crazy fashion photos.

Fashion Chalet
Erika is a gorgeous, stunning woman. Every day she posts photos of herself that belong in a fashion magazine. Her sense of style is flawless and if I ever saw her closet, it would probably make me faint. Lol. She is definitely a HUGE inspiration for me, as a fashionista and as a blogger.

There are no Downsides in ROJ
This is not a fashion blog. It is the blog of a girl who simply loves to run. She is my friend Julie, who I have known since high school and who I haven't seen since our freshman year of college back in Ohio. She is a marathon runner and a damn good one at that. She is also the sweetest person. Every time I read her blog, I get more and more motivated to do something better with my life.

Couture Carrie
I love this blog so much, I don't even know where to begin. Lol. Every day, Carrie posts the most amazing fashion photos that reveal current styles, trends, or just fun themes. This is another fashion blog where I keep certain posts in my favorites list, to go back for inspiration. Oh, and she has the most AMAZING giveaways!

Iva Messy
This blog is hilarious and awesome and so much fun! Iva posts the most interesting facts and some of the strangest photos I have ever seen online. She also makes these sweet video blogs for her readers, which are fabulous. Her sense of humor, her thought-provoking questions, and her creativity inspire me every time I read her blog.

RIP Lily

I got back from Portland this evening and I was going to blog about my trip. But obviously life doesn't always turn out the way you plan it.

Tragedy struck my family this evening. Our beloved family pet died unexpectedly and words cannot describe how incredibly sad I am. I never knew it was possible to love a pet so much. It hurts very badly.

Her name was Lily and she was my family's love bird. We bought her as a baby a few years ago. This was not our first pet. We've had 14 rabbits and other birds (parakeets, finches, etc.) before, but we never got attached.



Lily was different. She was the smartest bird we have ever had. She had a huge personality and was almost like a dog. She sat with my parents at the dinner table and nibbled food off their plates and always tried to drink beer out of my mom's glass. (She loved beer). She knew who we were. The minute we would enter the house, she would start chirping and rush to the side of the cage where we were standing and hang on her perch upside down to make us laugh. She always demanded attention.

Most of her time was spent outside of the cage than inside. She loved to sit on our shoulders and walk up and down each staircase of the house. She always let us know what annoyed her. One time, I tried feeding her some bread she thought was disgusting so she jumped up on my shoulder and bit me on the ear.

For my parents, she was the center of their life. They talked about her constantly, played with her all the time, and if you didn't know any better, you would think she was their second kid. It always comforted me to know they had something like that in their life, since I'm not always around.

This evening, Lily was sitting on my mom's shoulder after we got back in from Portland. My mom was unpacking and not paying attention and accidentally slammed into a doorway. Lily smashed into the doorway too and fell to the ground. We think her neck broke. My mom held her and tried to comfort her while I tried to find the number for a vet. But it was too late. Lily passed away ten minutes later.

I am so devastated and my heart is breaking right now. I will never forget the look on Lily's face when we were holding her while she was dying. I could see the pain and she was so quiet. She was making soft little chirp noises, so different from her usual sound. It is the worst feeling in the world to be so helpless around someone you love when they need you the most. I wish there was something I could have done for her. I wish I could go back in time.

My mom feels worse than I do. She blames herself. But it wasn't her fault. It was an accident.

I just can't believe this has happened. I want it all to be a nightmare and to wake up tomorrow and find out Lily is okay.

But I can't and I won't.

I guess all I can do now is hope to stop crying.