The last part of our family

These are the last members to our house. Meet Frankie and Aspen two huge cats that run our home.

Aspen the white one is my husband's cat. She is going on ten years old. We got her when we got married to keep my cat company. Aspen was the runt of the litter (not that you could tell that now). She can growl like a dog and liked to play fetch. Now our 23 pound cat mostly sits and as she has aged finally likes to be pet.

Frankie is my daughters cat. And being a true Jellicle cat he has three names: Frankenstein Hunter B..(then our last name). Yep, you hear that right Frankenstein is her cats name. When she got him from the neighbor boy he named it Frankenstein thinking it would annoy her. No way, my monster loving child thought it was great! He has been the best thing for her. She wants to be a Vet when she grows up and would have a house full of animals if we let her. Those commercials were they show the puppies needing homes, has her in tears every time. So she got Frankie, this cat adores her. I have never seen anything like it from a cat. She will call his name at night when she goes to bed and he comes running to her room to sleep with her. When she is gone for the night, he will pace her room meowing. (this part is not fun for those still left in the house) We go to wake Mouse up in the morning and that cat will come running from the other end of the house and lay across her in a way that says let her sleep and she stays with me today.

So there is the last piece to our home

Bright Forest

Me in the woods sometime in the 1980's

 I thought I would share how this name came about. When I decided to start this blog, I wanted it to be more personal then the ones I have done before. Yes before, this is my third try at blogging. My first try was a food blog - fun but short lived. My second was when I was designing and selling children's clothes. That one lasted longer and was the cause of the first one to be neglected and closed. But once I quit selling clothes I shut that site down also. I knew this one was going to be different.  

I wanted a name that meant something to me and gave a glimpse of us. So I did a google search of our last name. And the second definition of our name said Bright Forest. Perfect! That was it, I knew that was going to be in the blog title. Now strange story, I have googled our name since then and it no longer comes up. I feel this was meant to be.

My Brother and I

Living in Minnesota forests are plentiful. Walking through the forest has always brought me the most peace. Growing up we went on many hikes, these pictures I look back on seemed to be the happiest times in our family. My brother and I were not fighting in them and the sun is shining down. And though the memories can see the look of contentment on my parents face. Which is rare thing to see on my Dad's face, he and I share the same nervousness about life that makes contentment is hard to find. But there for that brief time we are all content, peaceful and surrounded by God's beauty. 

Mom, Brother, one of our many dogs and I

I have noticed even on vacations, that I love the forests most of all. My Mom and I went to Mexico together and though beach was nice and pool pristine, it was the  forest that called to me. The hikes we took through the rain forest was the highlights of our trip. It was welcoming in way that I can't describe. I have come to realize I need the green canopy, the crisp air and cool streams.

Mexico 2008- My Mom and I our first big trip

I wish I could say I take more hikes through the forest. But I don't. Life is busy and hard and time always seems to slip away. We go a few times a year. We take our daughter camping and hiking. And I can say I feel that same contentment when we go. There is something about the leaves over head that just seems to drown out the buzz of life and instead you hear the quietness of the forest. You hear the crunch of leaves under the feet of those your with, give you subconscious knowledge that you are surrounded by those who mean the most to you. The warm of the sun filtering through the trees and the hand of child in yours lets you forget the cold, emptiness of the living each day in an office.  Maybe trying to recapture that feeling is why we have so many pictures of trees, mountains surrounded by forests around our house. As I am rushing through the house each day, I stop for a minute and stare at the picture and remember the warmth. 

Us

So please come walk among us in this Bright Forest.

Introductions

Welcome to my blog..

Lets get to know each other. My name is Cassi. I am a wife and mother, you will meet my family shortly. My domestic loves are cooking, decorating and sewing. I am pretty sure I have enough cookbooks and food magazines for three people. But I use them all the time, or at least that is what I tell my husband when I buy a new one. I also work full time as Regional Operations Specialist, meaning I look at company procedures and make sure they are efficient and are followed by employees. I am one of the few people who love their job. One of my life goals is about to be accomplished in May of 2011, I will be receiving my Bachelors degree! It has been a long, long process and I am so glad to be almost done. Part time college student has been wary but rewarding. In my free time I like to travel, take photos and read. I am an avid reader with very eclectic tastes in books. One of my favorite quotes: "The habit of regular reading awakens something inside a person that makes him or her take their own life more seriously and at the same time develops the sense that other people's lives are real." - NEA chairman Dana Gioia. I truly believe this. Well enough about me for now.

My family consists of my husband, I will be calling him S for now. He is the rock in this house, he is mellow and thinks everything through, so much more than me. To give a good example: Our daughter was three and had gotten a hold of a pen which she proceeded to break in our living room. We had been in our house for maybe six months at this time, the pen went everywhere new carpet and new ottoman. My husband freaked for about two minutes then moved our daughter to the bathroom and then googled how to get ink out of carpets. By the time I got home all was back to new. She is so lucky I wasn't the one home, not only would I have freaked for longer then a few minutes, I would have ruined the carpet and ottoman. It would never have crossed my frantic mind to google it. My husband works as IT guy for a hospital group. He is a sports guy and avid music fan (all kinds). He will be the one letting me know I need to make grammar and spelling changes to the blog.

The other cuter and funnier part to our family is our seven year old daughter. I am going to call her Mouse. She came up with the name today. We were doing a Mommy / Daughter lunch at a local Mexican restaurant, while sitting there eating chips with cheese she called herself a mouse. I loved it immediately. She is small for her age and zips all over the place and she does love cheese. She is a mystery fanatic; Nancy Drew is her hero.  Her babies and the final members of our family is our two cats: Frankenstein (hers) and Aspen (my husband's). Both are enormous and hairy and loyal to her.

So welcome to our blog.