happy birthday Bear!

I cannot believe my handsome Bear Cub is 3 years old today. it seems like it was yesterday when my co-worker sent me a text message with a picture of two teeny tiny kittens, asking what to do. she brought them to my house, and it was love at first sight with that little grey kitty, who resembled a dust bunny more than an actual animal. 

he was so small he could fit in the palm of my hand. he would eat and then nap in his little box that I kept him in... taking him back and forth to work with me everyday for about 6 months, because he was too tiny and not self sufficient enough to leave at home.

always givin' Mama kisses

milk coma with his little dirty milk mouth

Bear is our "special" kitty, as I'm sure you've noticed (and the reason behind the blog name). we rescued him when he was 2 weeks old after his mama abandoned him and his sister in a dumpster. he was so little and weak that he had to be bottle fed every few hours. he had to be taught everything... from how to eat, how to go to the bathroom, and how to walk.

see that little paw sticking up? that's half the reason we named him Bear... they looked like little Bear claws

the bottle nipple could barely fit in his teeny mouth

kissin' hims cute wittle FACE

the first vet we took him to see told us to put him down because he had an inner ear infection and neurological issue in his brain, which caused him to walk in circles (which he still does), and that he most likely had rabies. we ended up seeing another vet, who created some miracle concoction of a medicine that helped his balance issue enough to where he could walk semi-normal.it was a rough couple months for him (and us!) with all the feedings, medicine, and learning how to be a normal kitty. we're pretty sure he still doesn't know what it means to be a cat.

he used to have blue eyes!

walking around on my desk at work... fat little milk belly

Bear & Lily, for size comparison

I'm SO thankful every day that we got a second opinion. I couldn't imagine our lives without him. he is so grateful for us and he shows it every single day - he gets excited when we get home from work, he kisses Mama's face, and truly loves us as his parents.

givin' kisses when we got home from vacation

he used to LOVE snuggling under the covers

napping with hims Daddy

just hangin' out @ work

happy 3rd birthday to my Mister Bear Nugget. 

you are the coolest cat ever. you make me laugh on a daily basis with your "talking" to me whenever I so much as look you, and I love that you think you are a human. even though it drives me batty, I think it's hilarious when you soar out of the litter box and look at me like you didn't do anything wrong. your constant affection is the best feeling in the world for kitty parents, and we love you more than you could possibly ever know. keep doing Bear Cub things, cause you're awesome.

and to the rest of you... 

Happy Friday!

[twenty-five]

I am twenty-five years old today. I woke up this morning to my cute husband whispering "happy birthday" in my ear, a funny ass voicemail from one of my best friends, 45 emails notifying me of wall posts on Facebook, and a few texts from friends. 

I hate working on my birthday, but I'm extremely busy with projects this week, so I didn't have the heart to take the day off. luckily, I'll make up for it with dinner at my favorite restaurant tonight with my family. I can't wait! 

I already received my birthday gift from Sean, which was my new zoom lens. Kaley gave me some down right awesome presents this weekend - a mustache necklace (see pic below), a headband with a mustard fabric flower, a beer koozie that says "birthday bad ass" and a cute kitty card (imagine that). and you saw my new Vera Bradley wallet from Kaycie. 

 

to say I've had an amazing birthday so far would be an understatement. I'm so lucky to have such generous and thoughtful friends - I don't know what I'd do without them! 
 

I was a little apprehensive about turning 25. I just feel like it's such a "serious" age, and I'm not so much a serious person. I view 25 as being the real deadline for adulthood... meaning I can't really do childish things anymore, because I'm really an adult now. for instance, I can't just go out with friends and get sloppy drunk without being judged because I'm 25  

and 25 year old women shouldn't act like that because it's not very "adult." 

I know it's an absolutely ridiculous concept, especially since I've considered myself an "adult" since I hit the ripe old age of 18, but still... it's my insane thinking that makes me who I am... who just happens to be 25 today. 

so I've decided to throw all my preconceived ideas of 25 out the window... 

I'm going to embrace 25, just like I do everything. 

age is nothing but a number, right?

my car insurance will go down, and I can legally rent a car. 

I'm hoping to conceive a baby in the next few months. 

my mom was 25 when she got pregnant with my brother, Matthew.

I'm a quarter of a century old. 

halfway to fifty. 

five years away from thirty, which they say, is the new twenty.

I have a feeling 25 will be a good year.

Happy Wednesday!

tidbits, yo

• UGH. slacker blogger. very busy weekend for this girl - beer night Friday, errands Saturday afternoon, birthday celebration Saturday evening, and hanging out with friends/writing a paper Sunday. 

• as you saw in this post, I finally upgraded my phone. I was the proud owner of the LG Dare for almost 2 years. my upgrade day was St. Patrick's Day (luck o' the Irish, say what?), so on Friday, we ventured out to Verizon to get the Droid X. I was torn between that and the Thunderbolt, but I just couldn't justify paying $250 for a cell phone... and the extra memory and the kickstand was just not worth $100 to me. so far I'm really loving my Droid. if you have any recommendations for apps, let a sister know! 

• check out my sweet birthday card I got from Kaycie. does she know me well or what?

• I went out with friends this weekend to celebrate my 25th birthday! we started out with a small group and dinner at a local Japanese Steakhouse, and then moved next door to Cadillac Ranch. I was so happy to have so many people come out to celebrate with me - we had an amazing evening full of laughter, flowing drinks, and memorable conversations. I am a lucky girl. here are some pictures (most were not taken by me, and I'll have more to post once Kaley uploads hers! AHEM!)

• on the other hand, I don't know if I'm ready to turn 25. I know that 25 is not old by a long shot, but I just feel very "adult" saying 25.

• I'm slowly moving through my 2011 Reading Challenge. I've now read 9 books this year - I finished two of Emily Giffin's books within about a week. I loved the first, Something Borrowed... I was really drawn to the narrator, Rachel, and was thrilled with the ending. The second book, Something Blue, was... alright... it's from the perspective of the other main character, Darcy, and I honestly hated her. I ended up liking her a bit more by the end, but overall, I was kind of underwhelmed with the story in comparison to the first. I'll be doing lengthy reviews for both books when I have the time. 

• speaking of reading and writing - I wrote an 800 word essay on the reliability of Nick Carraway as the narrator of The Great Gatsby for my English class yesterday during my lunch break. I started it Sunday and emailed it to myself to finish and send over to my professor from work. went to save the file, and it was corrupted. instead of copying & pasting like an intelligent person would do, I just x'ed out of it. lost the WHOLE thing, minus the measly two paragraphs I had written the night before. talk about pissed... I had to re-write the entire thing last night. 

• Bear is really ridiculously good looking. just sayin. 

• spring is officially here and I am SO excited. that's pretty much all I have to say about that. 

• since I had my last training session in February, I've only been to the gym once, and that was for a spin class. last week. I really need to get back into the swing of things when it comes to working out, but if I'm being honest here, that month off felt amazing. I'm still doing well with my eating habits... still staying away from fatty, greasy, and non-nutritional food. I need to stop making excuses as to why I can't work out, starting with tonight!

Happy Tuesday! 

kitty mish mash

Lily is my baby. she was the first pet I ever had on my own, and she was spoiled rotten as a kitten. not that much has changed in that department. she is the queen of the house and the worst part is that she KNOWS it. large and in charge, I'm tellin' ya.

she's my BIG girl - she weighs about 14lbs. it seems like all fat, and she's got a pretty gnarly FUPA on her, but she's actually got a substantial frame on her too. yep, she's big boned. she sleeps in the funniest positions, and she looks so comfy that I just want to snuggle her and motorboat her belly. 

I'm submitting this photo over at Tara's place for her Friday photo challenge. this week's challenge is "orange." I've always loved Lily's orange mustache, so I thought this would be the perfect representation for it. :)

________________________________________

Bear & Mama Cat were lookin' comfy on the couch too, so I photographed them as well. I cannot believe Bear is going to be THREE years old next month... blows my mind!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

I told Sean I wanted to get this for Bear's birthday, but he was not havin' it. so instead, Sean just bought me the book of kitty wigs to let me get my fix. I'm obsessed. I am not even kidding when I say that if I had the money, I would gladly spend $60 a piece on wigs for my cats. imagine the photo possibilities!

I wish Pheobe were more photogenic, but she hates having her picture taken, hence why there are only a handful of pictures of her on the blog. she's my stubborn girl! maybe she'd let me take more if she were sporting a pink wig.

god, I can't wait to have children so I can dress them up in ridiculous outfits.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! I know I'm not the only one out there that's ready for spring to be here already! 

Happy Friday!

 PS - I'm working on adding links (maybe I'll even be fancy and create buttons!) to the main page of my blog, but if you like to see me on other sites, you can follow me HERE on Twitter and HERE on Pinterest.

fifty-eight...

... days until my (motherfuckin') birthday! 

if you've been around here a while, you might remember me starting this countdown last year as well, albeit a little later than this year. I'm not real excited about turning 25, but I'm always happy about a holiday in which I get presents.

with a birthday approaching, I naturally start to take notice of pretty things I want to have in my possession, and will not hesitate to send Sean a little note on gchat saying something like "if you need any birthday ideas for me... just sayin." the abundance of things I send to him is never-ending, but I thought I'd go ahead and make a little wish list here on the blog... ya know... just in case anyone needs any ideas. 

I'm also accepting monetary donations for the "I Need To Finish My Damn Sleeve" fund, and can be reached at my email if there are any willing contributors out there. 

so here's what my wish list looks like for my 25th birthday:

 55-250mm zoom lens

"Mandy" handbag in Versailles print

(might need to call Vera to let her know she spelled my name wrong)

 Mr. Kitty note card set

the mustache necklace

Daytrip Perforated Jacket

(yes, I'm serious, Kaley)

;)

Parachute Duvet & Shams in grey

pear print

I'd also like to be able to continue seeing my personal trainer for free, one million dollars, and a lifetime supply of Italian ice. and for my hair to grow faster before I hastily decide to chop all this shit off. 

also, I just want to give a quick HELLO! to my new followers! 

thanks for joining me here at The Bear Naked Truth, I'm so happy to have you! 

I hope to not offend anyone during their visit, but I ain't makin' any promises.

Happy Monday, readers!

Reverb 10 - December 9th

December 9: Party

What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? 

Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.

I had SO much fun on my birthday this year. most of my good friends made it out to Nick's Nightclub in Virginia to celebrate with us. Nick's is a country western slash karaoke bar and it is the perfect setting for a grand old time... trust me.

we had SO many people show up to hang out... I was so thankful that mostly everyone invited could make it. we sang and listened to a lot of different songs, and even busted out the old Boyz In The Hood, which is a tradition for us whenever we're near a microphone. we took up the entire left side of the bar, and hijacked at least 5 tables to put all our people. we stored our purses underneath our seats so we'd have plenty of room for the beer bottles and ashtrays. we ogled over the hot cowboy security guard like a bunch of middle school girls and went to the bathroom in groups.

the drinks were flowing all night long, and rounds of shots served their purpose. the end of the night is a little fuzzy to me, thanks to my dad buying an entire tray of jello shots. or maybe it was the beer? or the mixed drinks? I'm not exactly sure, but it was an amazing night from what I can remember. 

for some reason, I wasn't too excited about turning 24, 

but it ended up being one of best birthdays I can remember. 

I can still recall my clothes smelling of cigarettes, fried bar food, 

and beer the next day... that's always proof of a good time, right?

birthday recap!

welp. I've been MIA for the past week... but this time instead of being busy with work, I've been busy with fun... which is ALWAYS a good thing if you ask me.

the birthday celebrations began on Saturday, which consisted of a new full set of gel nails and a milk & honey pedicure with my best friend, Laura. from there, we went to Mimi's Cafe for lunch, where I enjoyed a delicious meal of shrimp & spinach ravioli with scallops and a Malibu Bay Breeze to drink.

from there, I went home and took a much needed nap, and then got ready to go celebrate at one of our favorite bars, Nick's, which serves as a country/karaoke bar. it's always such a good time, and this past weekend was no exception.

all our friends arrived and started drinking and the night took off from there. the girls (mainly Laura, Kaley, and myself) sang lots of karaoke (including Sugarland and Taylor Swift) and we even had a few guys get up to sing! I'm so lucky to have such amazing friends - I'm so glad they all came out to celebrate with me - it definitely made for one of my favorite birthdays! it was a great night overall, and the birthday girl got a little toasted being that I was given so many free shots and beers! my dad even made an appearance and bought us a couple rounds of jello shots. let's just say that ravioli tasted just as good coming up as it did going down, haha.

and now for the fun part - pictures! these pictures are courtesy of my camera, along with the cameras of Kaley & Aubrey. I think the pictures prove what a drunken and wonderful time we all had!

and then for my actual birthday, we had a big dinner with my family and best friend at the Cheesecake Factory last night. in fact, I'm pretty sure I'm still full from all the food I consumed. I got to hang out with my little brother, Wyatt, which is always awesome. he'll be two years old at the end of May, and while he's steadily approaching his "terrible two" phase, he's still cute as ever and is constantly making me laugh. I didn't take many pictures last night (must have been too busy stuffing my face), but here are a few!

FACT: I have the best husband ever. let me just say this - the man has never gotten me a card, EVER. no birthday, no Valentine's Day, no Christmas... nothing. so when I got home yesterday to see this, I was floored. not only did he get me a card, but he got me the perfect one. it's got PEARS on it - how fucking badass is that? thoughtful husband WIN!

I have to say, the only time I actually felt 24 was when I was extremely hungover all day on Sunday. thank you to all my friends and family for making my birthday so special!

and now back to our regularly scheduled blog - I'll be posting at least two more times today to catch up! :D