A Perfect Winter Wonderland

After coming back from Thanksgiving in Colorado, my boyfriend and I decided to do a Trusted House Sitters getaway. Portland only snowed a couple times out of the year, and we wanted to have a White Christmas. Luckily enough, an older couple in Ogden, Utah needed sitters for their three cats. So, after experiencing the famous Christmas Zoo lights in Portland, my boyfriend and I road tripped fourteen hours to Utah.

Now, I'll admit that the couple we were sitting for was a bit odd when we video called them for an interview. After accepting us to be their sitters, they wanted to video call us a few more times so they could go over their cats' schedules and show us where the cats liked to go during the day and night. My boyfriend and I thought video calling multiple times for cats was a bit overdramatic, especially since I own two cats and mentioned that I have advanced experience with cats. They also just ended up leaving a list of instructions, so we weren't really sure what the point was for all the other calls. They also had one of their friends let us in and show us around, even though they already did that on the face call.

Even though the people seemed strange, we just wanted to vibe with their cats and enjoy their luxurious house. Not only did they have a huge kitchen and five televisions, but they also had a hot tub that we were allowed to use. Every day, my boyfriend and I would find new things to do, and at night, we would watch a movie, hop in the hot tub, shower, and go to bed. We explored a Mormon temple, went sledding, made hot chocolate, and worked on hella puzzles. On Christmas day, we exchanged gifts in the morning, and had a feast for dinner. Not to mention, the cats we were sitting were all laid back and liked getting pet for long periods of time... I was in heaven.

However, by the time we were supposed to leave, one of the older cats started eating less. We mentioned it to the owners and we made sure to keep them updated while they were away. A few days later, my boyfriend got a message saying that something was wrong with the cat, and if we knew anything about the matter. We told them everything we knew, but they ended up blaming us when it was found out that their cat had diabetes. They left us a 2-star review on Trusted House Sitters and said that we "didn't keep them updated enough about what was going on." Even though my boyfriend and I sent pictures every other day and informed them when their cat started acting differently. We responded back that we didn't think their review was very fair, but it is what it is.

After our Utah adventure, we planned to celebrate New Year's Eve back in Oregon with my best friend and then set out for Washington two days letter. (We planned it so we would have a total of three weeks off for Christmas and New Year's) After bringing in the new year by getting white girl wasted, my boyfriend and I were ready for another pet sit. This time we were watching a dog and we were only four hours away from home. The lady we were sitting for let us use her car, which was Hybrid, so we were able to save some gas money. There wasn't much to do in the area we were staying in, but we were enjoying ourselves. We got stoned most days, then took the dog out on his daily walk, and worked on even more puzzles.

Though it wasn't as thrilling as other pet sits, Washington marked a new chapter for me. I decided to delete TikTok, as I felt like I was allowing the content to mess with my head space too much. By the time our sit ended, I felt renewed. It was a new year, I was slowly giving up social media, and I took a much needed break from Olive Garden. Though Winter time does have its depressing moments, sometimes its can also feel like a perfect Winter Wonderland.