And this is why I want a kitten for Christmas...

A Tale of Two Mammals

Jack is pissed he got caught laying that close to Hercules.



His defense: it was the only shady part of the patio.

Herc remained unfazed.

I enjoy....

Cats who like to think they can fit in really small baskets.



Seriously, it's the most adorable thing ever.



I nearly brought home another cat from Feeders Supply this weekend. But I'm testing out this thing they call 'willpower'.

In addition to NOT bringing home cats I'm also testing my willpower by attempting to give up cokes again. Not to lose weight, but because I'm noticing I'm incredibly addicted to them. It doesn't matter if it's diet or regular, all of that phosphoric acid and junk cannot be good for my body.

But I'm notoriously bad at giving them up. We'll see how long I can go.

Anyways, know what else is cute?

Cats who like to play with Christmas ribbon.

Photo of the Day (Update my Life Edition)

Jon's 'I'm growing out my hair project' is finally out of that awkward growing out stage and kind of cute. He was a curly headed 3 year old, 10 years later...it's back.



The yard in front of the house was dug up today for a new water line. I'm already tired of the heavy machinery running. But the pile of rock and dirt is impressive.



My quilt blocks went from this:



To this:



And finally, when will cats ever learn they aren't as small as they think they are?



I'm not sure. But the hissing and biting that occurred while trying to free her from this mess will forever haunt my dreams.

Cat Scratch Fever

It is so hard to find the motivation to blog lately. Between the dropping my basket over school stuff, and then the whole political scene right now I spend most of my time watching CNN, perusing the internet for political stories, or reading something for some boring class.

But I was doing so good with the blogging and writing down the stuff going on in my life that I almost feel bad for not updating! Something about that is probably not healthy. ;)

So what have I been up? Good question.

As I said, watching lots of CNN. Last night Jon piled on my bed with 2 of the 3 dogs, my Mom kicked her feet up nearby and we watched John McCain's nomination speech. But before that we warmed up with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. That was lots of fun.

I finished my quilt squares! Now I just have to quilt the whole thing. Which umm...I'm thinking is going to be the hard part since I have no idea how to do it. I'll let you know how that goes.

Last night I dreamed about my dead grandmother. As in, every so often we had to un-thaw her and she'd come back to life for a little while. What?! Yeah, I don't know what is up with that. I blame it on late night Republican politics coupled with French Onion Sunchips...that'll do weird stuff to your head. ;)

Did you know I still don't have a car? Nope, keep putting off going to find one. I hate car shopping. And the price of little cars has rose dramatically since the last time we bought one! Omg. When we bought my Aveo, it was a year old with really low miles on it and we got it for $8,900. If I tried to buy a year old Aveo now with low miles it would cost me $10,988 or $11,950.

So I'm indecisive about what I want and unsure of which direction to go in. I'm sure I'll decide something soon though.

Things I'm currently obsessed with include:

The LL Bean catalog. I'm not kidding when I say I want everything in it.

Fall Weather. I wouldn't mind a bit of a chilly spell.

Bollywood movies. Which oddly enough my library has a plethora of. Weird.

And kittens. I know there are enough animals around here. But every time I go to Feeder's Supply there is a cage full of kittens. And every time their adoption fee is marked down to $55 and the frugal part of me goes, '$55 for a cat thats already fixed and has all of its shots is a DEAL'. And every time at the very moment, when I'm this close to asking someone for paperwork to fill out...my Dad calls and says 'don't even think about it'. And he doesn't even know I'm thinking about it, he just knows where I am and that it's GOING TO HAPPEN.

So yeah, somebody adopt a kitten and then let me come cuddle it. Okay? Thanks.

Another Variation on a Vet Story (the doctor I see more than my own)

A vet visit comparison:

Zena:

• cleaned wound, shaved around puncture
• given 2 antibiotic injections
• sent home with topical spray to use twice daily for a week

Total: $106

Hercules:

• put under general anesthesia
• abscess sliced open and drained
• drain tube inserted and incision is stapled AND sutured up
• castrated since he was under anyway
• given Amoxil in liquid form to take twice daily until gone

Total: $139

While I understand why Zena's bill was what it was, because of the injections and $30 topical spray, it blows my mind that all of that for Hercules only cost $139. My Mom braced herself for an upwards of $300 visit while we were waiting on his surgery to be over. Needless to say, she was more than pleasantly surprised.




My mother, in her previous job form, took drain tubes and staples and sutures out of people all day long. The vet felt comfortable bestowing this honor on her for Herc so we don't have to return on Monday. While I've gotten forcing the medicine down his throat down pat, I'm more than relieved it's not me removing this tomorrow.