i have a cat and her name is suzy.

adopted from my parents' rural ohio farm, suzy has quickly settled into the bay area urban life. she freely and curiously roams around my tiny apartment (when she's not napping--which isn't often) peeking into the closet, sunbathing and watching the neighbours from the windowsill, or chasing invisible mice. she loves curling up with me at the end of a long workday for project runway or chopped marathons, often facing me with her eyes challenging me to a ribbon duel, pouncing on my toes poking up from the bed linens, or with heavy eyelids as a prompt that it's bedtime.

a self-proclaimed insistent dog-lover, i've redirected my animal love in the feline direction to provide a good home for this adopted beauty and also because a dog isn't in my living situation budget right now. surprisingly, i've found myself a bit hyper with my iphone camera (wouldn't you if your cat was as beautiful?) and talking about her in nearly every conversation with friends. i don't think this makes me a crazy cat person though. no, i'm simply an animal lover doting on a gorgeous all-fluff cat that needed a new loving home.

suzy's fun and spunky and bursting with personality. she twists her body around chair and table legs, sips her milk quietly, stares me down when i'm eating ice cream, and loves tastes of roasted turkey sandwich meat. she's kind of the most amazing cat ever and i adore her.

the best part of adopting suzy into my little family is observing my fiance fall in love with her too. more times than not, he'll ask me for a new picture of her or ask what she's up to or tell me he misses her. he's smitten. it's so cute i'm surprised i found words to express it.

my fiance just said it: "you're not a cat person. you're a suzy person." yeup, that's me!