Today's Kitty Cuteness

Status Report

Well, yesterday was the half way point in my 10-day antibiotic cycle. I'm not dead yet so that's good. No allergic reactions, either. Well, not to the antibiotic. There is the fact that the first inactive ingredient in the capsule is cornstarch so that's cause some minor issues. And I think it is that which is making me feel like I've been hit by a bus. But I can breathe so beggars and choosers and all that. Breathing ranks above having the energy to do things like make tea. Stand. Take a shower. That sort of thing. Anyway, four more days so hopefully the end is near.

I have managed to take a few pictures lately though which I thought I'd share because I can.

First, I was able to get a picture of the rare Activity Mat Happy. She's not one of the normal Activity Mat visitors and when she does camp out on it, she usually doesn't stay long enough for me to get a picture. (Something about me getting near her with a camera requires her to run up and love on my lens.) But today, I got one!

And can I just share how much difficulty black cats cause for auto focus and light metering?

Anyway, another fun shot (I think) was the result of needing the other kitties to bat clean-up for the Big Girl. When Ashes doesn't finish (or doesn't like) a wet cat food we give her, I let the others have a chance at it so it doesn't go bad. Yeah, this is probably not the best plan considering the Weight Loss Challenge but it doesn't happen all that often so I figure one or two cans split between six kitties twice a month probably isn't a big dietary ding. (Famous last words? Perhaps!) Well, Cocoa is the top kitty around here so she always demands that she get first crack at any food or treats. All others much wait. (And wait. And wait.)

Chloe, though, looked particularly pretty while she waited. (I think it's how lovely her eyes are when light hits them.)

In other news, I mentioned previously that I've been crocheting again. Sometimes, Cocoa gets in the way. Fortunately, she's very patient.

And speaking of crocheting, next up is finishing this work-in-progress afghan from forever ago.

So that's pretty much it. I'm gonna go die now.

Three Unrelated Things

(1)
Went to the doctor today. (Yes, I've been feeling that poorly.) I have bronchitis (no surprise) but my breathing issues might also be caused by asthma. Woo.

Anyway, we are "aggressively" treating my bronchitis (and ear infection) with an antibiotic. Fingers crossed for no allergic reaction to this one (though I haven't had it before and usually I don't react until the second time so I think I'm safe). I've also got some Advair and Spiriva (and I have a rescue inhaler from my mom) so I'm all dosed up. If I can't breathe for the next two weeks, it's because I've reacted to the antibiotic and my throat has swelled closed. Yay breathing! (By the way, yes, I will have a babysitter with me as I take this antibiotic to monitor any reactions that may occur.)


(2)
I finished "real" book number 5 last night, Reinventing Jesus. Honestly? Not a big fan. (To the point of not even including a picture of the book here. Just can't be bothered.) I am either smarter or much dumber than their target audience, I'm not sure which, but I just seemed to totally miss their point(s). On top of that, I just can't get behind any book that says (twice in twenty pages even) things like, "This is a really interesting topic that we could explore further... but we won't."

It was supposedly countering points brought up by The Da Vinci Code, the Jesus Seminar and the like but instead just seemed to superficially list the skeptic's arguments, then talk a bit about religious scholars thinking on a subject kind of similar then say, "And Big Name Theologian says, 'This argument has been disproved a number of times.' So it's obvious that what the skeptics say is false!" (But it said all that in a much more academic way.)

Anyway, yeah, not a fan. But I've been attempting to finish this book for the last two years so yay for the real book push making me get this one off my shelf! I think either The United States of Arugula or Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld is next.


(3)
I've been taking pictures of my pretty Dan tulips lately, all of which have been low-key photos (dominated by dark tones). Today's Daily Shoot, however, was to take a high-key photo (dominated by light tones) so I thought it only fair to attempt it with the tulips. It turned out nice (I think) so I decided to share.

I tend to gravitate towards underexposing my photos (I like the details shadows can bring out) so overexposing shots to get a high-key photo was a bit hard but yay for Daily Shoot making me step outside my comfort zone! (Which is why I do Daily Shoot in the first place.)

Weight Loss Challenge: Day 110

FINALLY! After massive frustration last month made me decrease the amount the kitties were getting per feeding, it looks like there's some payoff.

Both Sam and Cocoa lost weight. The two fatties which weren't losing for what feels like ever, are finally inching back down, weight-wise. Thank goodness. Because honestly, I was thinking of taking Sam to Mexico for gastric bypass.

Here's the current breakdown:

• Ashes - 8.2 lbs (starting weight of 9.4/total loss of 1.2lbs)
  Uhm, okay, this one isn't great news. Ashes needs to weigh more. Eight-pounds is too skinny for her. So we're going to do our best to make her develop a three-pack-a-day wet cat food habit.
  


• Chloe - 12.4 lbs (starting weight of 15.0/total loss of 2.6lbs)
  Wow! Down one whole pound since December (and down .6lbs from the weigh-in-that-didn't-count-because-Sam-was-too-fat), Chloe is a sleek and slender little beastie. It wouldn't hurt her to lose a pound or two more but already I can tell a difference in how she feels. She rivals Cocoa now for random look-mom-I-killed-the-toy cries in the middle of the day, something that's very new for her. Yay for a healthy, energetic Chloe!
  


• Happy - 10.4 lbs (starting weight of 11.2/total loss of .8lbs)
  Absolutely no change here but that's not a problem. Happy-doodle went to the vet last month and was given the A-OK weight-wise so as long as she stays here, we're good.
  


• Gidget - 9.0 lbs (starting weight of 9.4/total loss of .4lbs)
  Last week, the vet gave Gidget the thumbs up on her weight so right here is a good place for the puffer to stay. She's allowed in the pantry to access the extra kibble whenever she wants. Of course, "whenever" tends to be every five minutes so yeah, she needs to stop that. At least until she learns to open (and close) the pantry door on her own.
  


• Bitty - 6.2 lbs (starting weight of 6.2/total loss of 0lbs)
  This is a good weight for Bitty. She was hovering around 5.6lbs late last month and honestly, she looks a bit too little at that weight. But 6lbs is perfect for her (and the vet agrees) so here's another kitty with a free kibble pass. (She's much more patient about being shut in the pantry for 30 minutes or more though. Gidget should take lessons.)
  


• Cocoa - 14.4 lbs (starting weight of 17.0/total loss of 2.6lbs)
  Yay! Another weight loss! Down 1.2lbs from December means that hopefully she'll be able to get down to 12lbs (my goal weight for her) eventually. Yay for smaller kibble portions and weight loss!
  


• Sam - 21.8 lbs (starting weight of 24.0/total loss of 2.2lbs)
  FINALLY! WEIGHT LOSS HAS HAPPENED! It seems like Sam has been hovering around 22.8 or 23lbs for ages now (and probably has - I think he's been there since about WLC Day 30) so it's so nice to see the smaller kibble portions resulting in actual weight loss. Yay! Maybe in another two months, Sam will be able to clock in under the 20s. That'd be a huge success. Fingers crossed!

Chloe and Cocoa are tied for most weight loss but since Chloe's percentage is bigger, I'm declaring her to be the reigning Weight Loss Challenge queen. But the important thing to take away from this is really that everyone that needed to lose has lost a pound or more since December, thanks to decreased kibble portions.

In other words, the massive frustration from last month? It's all worth it now.

Dan Rocks!

Guess what Dan brought home tonight?

He's so awesome. I think I might keep him.

More Pictures!

I'm still fighting sickness (boo!) but I was alive enough to get out and about yesterday (yay!).

Dan and I went to my folks' house and SPAF (single purpose agricultural facility) so Dan could consult on audio wiring possibilities. Naturally, I took pictures! (Not of the wiring possibilities but rather around the SPAF and of the dad's doggies.) So here, have more slideshow!

Slight warning: This one is actually kind of long - 44 pictures. For some reason I apparently love taking pictures of winterized nature... and dogs.

Steak Accomplished!

Well, it's three days late but Dan finally got his birthday dinner. He didn't get it on his actual birthday because we were trapped inside thanks to weather. Boo weather.

But weather passed and so we were able to make a grocery store run this weekend and I could pick up my birthday ingredients. Fortunately I also started feeling un-sick this weekend, too (after a month! finally!) which was good because today? I needed all my energy for the cooking.

A few weeks ago, I asked Dan what he wanted for his birthday dinner. (Normally meatloaf is one of his favorites but I had just made that so I was trying to think of something else very Dan-friendly.) He replied, "Steak." Steak? Uhm, I've never cooked a steak. I've only recently started eating steak. I was banned from eating steak growing up. (I always thought it needed ketchup.) Yeah, steak wasn't gonna happen. But then...

Well, I got Alton Brown's Good Eats: The Early Years
(a really great book (and show) if you don't know that already - I'm going to have to break down at some point and get the second one) and low and behold, what is the first recipe in there? Steak. A rib-eye steak to be exact.

So I made a steak.

Yeah, there were fresh steamed green beans, red cabbage and carrot coleslaw and a salad. And a dipping sauce for the steak. (No, Dad, it wasn't ketchup, I promise.) There was even toast used to soak up some of the steak drippings as they cooled. (Another one from Alton - and super-tasty. I recommend it.)

And of course, what is a birthday celebration without some sort of cake? A pretty poor birthday celebration! And I couldn't have that so I made some strawberry shortcake.

Even the whipped cream was made from scratch. (I had never made whipped cream before but it really wasn't all that thrilling. The food processor really did it all.)

Oh, and we even had booze! Actually, we had a lot of booze. The strawberries for the shortcake had half a bottle of red wine. The salad dressing had some white wine. The steak dipping sauce had brandy (and Alton's recipe included 1oz of brandy for the cook, so I followed that, too.) And then we had half a bottle of red wine to kill off. For a lightweight like what I am now? I ended up getting a little giggly after the strawberry shortcake. (Though I'm sure the swig of brandy while cooking had nothing to do with that, right?)

So I'd have to say that, delayed or not, Dan's birthday ended up being a massive success. Sure, I smoked up the entire kitchen while cooking the steak, but Alton's recipe had warned that smoke alarm batteries would need to be removed so I was prepared. And now I know I can cook steak! (And strawberry shortcake.)

A few more dinner pics on Flickr.

Book Four

I just finished 'real' book number four for 2011, Twinkie, Deconstructed

Twinkies' ingredients are the products of a rural-industrial complex, made from a web of chemicals and raw materials produced by or dependent on nearly every basic industry we know.... Twinkies are obviously connect to food industries such as corn, soybeans, wheat, eggs, and milk, but, in fact, Twinkies ingredients are also manufactured with fourteen of the top twenty chemicals made in the United States, not even including salt (which goes into chlorine) or petroleum. The unlikely food subingredients sulfuric acid, ethylene, lime, and phosphoric acid top the list.

Don't let the cute snack cake title fool you - Twinkie, Deconstructed is really about our current industrial food system. But that's a pretty heavy topic and doesn't sound all that exciting, thus the Twinkie twist. Honestly, it works. I don't think I'd buy a book that advertised itself as a description of how our industrial food system makes, well, food. And if I did buy that book, I certainly wouldn't read it after just finishing Food Politics because - yes, interesting book but so heavy. So it's pretty awesome to read a book about a heavy topic such as industrial food but have it be a quick, easy, light and fun read.

And that's what this book was - the author's tone and writing makes the heavy topic understandable, interesting and yes, even light and fun. Industrial food system for the lay person. Sure, it still described how the different foods were made but it wasn't dry or boring (or confusingly scientific) like I'd expect such topics to be. And it put it in an easy-to-grasp concept of how it relates to a food that everyone recognizes and has most likely eaten.

The one semi-negative I might give about this book is that it is a little bit numbing in it's mindblowing-ness. Does that sound like a contradiction? Maybe it is, but it's also true (and not entirely negative). I mean, there are so many things involved in making the ingredients of a Twinkie. I knew our modern food system was a far cry away from resembling anything I'd get from my garden (if I had a garden) but this made it really sink in how totally foreign it is. And that vast difference is displayed with every ingredient, even the flour. About three ingredients from the end my mind simply could not be surprised any more. It wanted to be but couldn't. Thus the constant mind-blowing lead to a little bit of numbness. (But I will say, the last ingredient was the food dye and that was different enough that my mind was able to be amazed again.)

All in all, this book is massively interesting. And the fact that it is just an accessible read is probably a big factor in that. Not only does it discuss manufacturing methods for the Twinkie ingredients but it also touches on how those processes were discovered and what other (relate-able) items can be made using the same process with just a step or two difference. Plaster, for instance. Or cheese. It's kind of well, yeah, mind-blowing.

When I read something interesting or surprising, I have a tendency to make a little 'huh' sound of interest or, well, surprise. This book made me do that. A lot. So much so that it made Dan laugh at me one at least one occasion. Apparently I was making lots of little 'huh's. I couldn't help it! It's really amazing stuff!

I would totally recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in food. Or Twinkies. Or understanding a food label. Or wanting to understand a bit about what they are eating (since Twinkie ingredients are common in many other foods). (It's also very even-handed, not an "all-natural food or death!" type book, so it works well for folks that will never eat a Twinkie again (that'd be me - totally not a corn-free food) and also for those who'd eat a whole box of them.)

4 books down, 20 more to go!

Yay Productivity!

I'm still fighting bronchitis and apparently my body is fighting pretty hard because I've been exhausted lately. Exhausted. Fortunately, I do think I will eventually win the war, perhaps without even having to break down and get a prescription for an antibiotic! Yay! Though I've been fighting this since the 19th of last month so who knows how long it will take to fully win the war.

Since I've been so exhausted lately, I haven't been the most productive housewife. Add all the snow and ice we've had this week and I haven't even been able to go grocery shopping. Poor Dan - his birthday dinner for tonight (previously planned to be steak, salad, mashed potatoes and strawberry shortcake (all made from scratch!)) will be frozen pizza since I haven't been able to get out to pick up recipe provisions.

Pretty much the only things I've been able to do lately (besides sleep) has been reading and crocheting. Which means I've gotten some decent crocheting in. Go me! In fact, as of last night, I have officially finished my latest doily.

So yes, that's the productivity of which I speak. Yay!

Eventually I hope to be unsick and get back to all the fun housewife-ness. But until then, I'm finishing up a book (Twinkie, Deconstructed) and working on a crochet book cover. Reading and crochet. I'm so productive.

Oopsies

Back in December I mentioned the presents the kitties had gotten for Christmas. I posted pictures of their new scratching post and promised pictures of their new Activity Mat. (At the time I was still trying to collect pictures.)

Well, there are a few kitties that I haven't managed to catch a picture of while they hung out on the Activity Mat (Cocoa and Chloe specifically - when I get in the floor to take the picture, they get up and walk towards me) but a conversation with the MIL yesterday reminded me of my need to share the pictures I do have.

So without further ado, cute kitties on their Activity Mat!

As you can see, the Activity Mat is a pretty popular spot to hang out. Of course, this has lead to at least one disagreement about whose turn it was to enjoy the Mat.

You would think with the massive weight disparity (Sam weighing 22lbs and Bitty only 6lbs) that the winner of such a disagreement would be obvious.

You'd be wrong.

ETA: Chloe must have read about her Activity Mat elusiveness. She decided to camp out on the Mat and let me take some pictures.

We Have Weather

It snowed today! Well, last night and today. Thankfully, the sun is out and things seem to be melting. I hope things are melting. Snow is cold. And now that I've taken pictures of it, there's really no reason for it to hang around.

See? Pictures!

I'm so ready for summer.

ETA on 2/2: Pictures from today are included in the above slideshow now. Yesterday afternoon some of the snow melted. Well, considering it is 11am and only 12° outside, I'm sure you can imagine what happened to all that melt water last night when it was even colder. Yep. Lots of ice. Everywhere.

ETA on 2/4: More pictures were added to the above slideshow, these from today where we still have snow. Seriously. STOP IT.