Solarjoles

In the months since I’ve blogged on this site, I got another cat. And for all of our sanity, the litter box is back.

Damn it smells. Doesn’t seem to matter how many times a day I empty, it’s still a little pit of smelliness. Both of them, actually.

Roo and Pekoe are only just now starting to be allowed together without supervision. The goal is that if they get along well enough, maybe they’ll start using the same litterbox, and then at least I could go from 2 to 1. And from 1 we can start from scratch with the toilet.

/le sigh/

I got a new one. From work. Much better. The old one is now at work, running tests and slowly dying. It is going to a better place. A place where it will be stripped for parts and used to prototype new things. And then trashed.

I called our care package recipients the other day, and asked them what their favorite cookies they’d recieved were. I figured whatever it was, I’d whip them up and send them along.

Except all their favorites are ones S makes.

Talk about a blow to my ego.

So I whipped up a recipe I don’t make very often, for Chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I don’t make it because for a lot of ingredients (an entire pound of Ghiradelli chocolate chips, 2 cups of pecans, half a cup of butter…) you only get about 20 cookies.

I forgot how much I like these cookies.

Hopefully they love them too.

This morning I got up at 6:45 and actually managed to make it out the door by 7:20. Granted, I was still in my pajamas.

The pool at UMD was deserted. It was lovely.

My swimming has suffered in the months since I’ve gone regularly, but I’m going to make this work, dammit. I did 24 laps…pathetic in terms of my old routine…but I did mix it up. And my new, improved crawl works me harder, since I actually use my legs now. But the biggie that will have to happen is backstroke. Not so hard on the arms, but oh good God were my legs in pain after only 4 laps.

Pain is good.

I’ve been on travel for work all this week, and just got back early Saturday morning.

The entire time I was in China, I had no Starbucks…maybe one cup of coffee a day, but not espresso. I was feeling pretty damn proud…it’s not even like they don’t have it there (see pic!)

Of course, now I’m fighting jet lag. 12 hour difference means I’m sleepy all day and awake all night. My folks were good enough to keep me awake until 9pm last night, but there was no way we’d have made it past 2 if not for the triple grande three pump white mocha, skim with no whip. And this afternoon, I started crashing around 6, so had the tall variation.

Oh, and the last time I heard? Nathan has lost 22 of the 30 pounds in 21 days. So I may not even get my espresso machine. Stubborn bastard.

China was one of those far horizon goals for me until 2 weeks ago, when my boss informed me that 2 people needed to go to China and I was going to be one of them.

What an amazing place. I want to go back in the worst way now, and may get the chance, if work keeps up like this. I only got one “free” day in Shanghai, but the people were so kind and friendly, and everything so new and yet so old – you can feel the excitement of this place that is on the rise. The city goes on forever, and capitalism has definitely made its mark…”no, I don’t want a fake rolex or coach bag” – but in a few city parks and old town back alleys, you can see real China.

One piece of advice: avoid budget airlines for the long flight.

It’s Sunday, and I vacuumed the house and mopped the kitchen, dining room and bathroom. I’ve been pretty good about vacuuming…maybe not every week, but every other at least. The mopping is harder. I hate these black and white WOODEN tiles that stain and get paint stuck in them (indicators of what colors the rooms used to be…pink and turquoise and yellow, as far as I can tell) and just never get clean. The white looks dingy and the black looks like it has a layer of paste on top of it. Before Pesach, I’ll get down on the floor and scrub them by hand, but I’m not optimistic. The swiffer mop is pretty damn good.

No reception in my house. I’ve tried every room. Apparently there’s a way to sell your contract so that you can get out of it without a fine…might have to do that.

Nathan (one of my bosses), owes me somewhere between $30 and $100 for Starbucks (I don’t keep track). I want to buy an espresso machine for the office, so I don’t have to go to Starbucks and spend all my money there.

Nathan came in this morning and announced that he had never weighed this much before in his life, and was going to lose 30 pounds. In a month.

I found this hysterical.

So as an incentive, I bet him that he couldn’t. He wins, he doesn’t owe me for the Starbucks (not like I ever expected to be paid back). I win…he buys me the espresso machine.

He seems to be doing pretty well, but I know this is physically impossible.

So…do I go with the DeLonghi or the Gaggia?

They’re dead. All my sprouts, officially, dead.

I’m really not sure why. They were doing great. Maybe I didn’t take off the top of the seedling tray soon enough, and they got moldy, and then when I did take the top off? They’re all dried out.

Try again. Maybe I’ll go get a new tray tonight. I gave mom all my seeds…I think I’m going to be less ambitious and go for a few basil, a few dill, and maybe some oregano. And that’s it.

Swimming lessons were a brilliant idea. I want to take them again next month. Or join a relaxed team, or something.

I have people that I kinda know when I’m there, to chat with. I always go, since I paid for it and don’t want to miss anything. My freestyle has improved remarkably. I kinda know the backstroke and we’re working on the breastroke right now. But more than anything, I’m getting in the habit of going to the pool every week, twice a week, right after work.

And that’s what really matters.

Pekoe pees in the potty like a pro. Hits the hole, every time. Doesn’t even use the litter…scratches at the toilet seat a bit, but really has this down. Somedays, two paws up, some days, four. I could probably cut out the next ring on this one.

But.

We’re still having poopy problems. Switched her food up a bit, and now at least it’s semi-solid. I’d be proud of poop at that consistency…better than hard hard. But, it’s not getting in the toilet. Once on the floor, once in the bathtub. She doesn’t poop every day, more like every 3 days, which worries me. And when she does, there’s a MOUNTAIN of it. And like I said…it’s not in the right place.

I bought a Sitz Tub last night in case we have to backtrack. It’s a bit deeper than I like, but it’ll probably work if we have to go back to no hole or a very small hole. And you can’t beat the price ($12 vs. $35 for a CK and $80 for a LK). We’ll see how the rest of this week goes, and maybe I won’t have to use it.

I’ve been doing pretty darn well this week. I swore this would be the week I’d turn it all around, and I definitely had a strong start. Of course, I go to school on Mondays, so my coworkers didn’t realize I’m doing better.

So my boss gave me a little reminder that I actually have to talk to clients sometimes, and they may start calling as early as 9:45 (hint hint) if they’re in Europe. Or really worried about something.

The hint has helped.

Tuesday: 8:45
Wednesday: 9:00
Thursday: 9:20 (but only because of the @#$%*() who drive around here like it’s la la land)

Yesterday the dentist decided that we should remove an old filling and replace it; apparently there is some decay around the edge. Fine. Whatever.

The hygienist didn’t say anything about my flossing, good or bad, but spent at least 20 minutes mauling my poor mouth. Something about decalcification at the gumline. Which is apparently a brushing problem, but I couldn’t get a clear picture of what I was supposed to do differently. Except buy this NeutraCare stuff that is “topical fluoride” – brush, spit but don’t rinse and leave on at least 30 minutes. Fine. I can handle that. Don’t actually think it’s going to help, but maybe it will. I have nothing to lose.

I left feeling yucky about my resolution…I didn’t get any sort of pat on the back, just more paste, more instructions and more dental work. I left feeling like I must have the ugliest, most flawed teeth in the world, and they’re all just waiting to fall out. Partially it was the amount of pain my gums and teeth were in from her vicious attack on my tartar (which I couldn’t even see), the amount of blood I had spit into the sink (also from her poking around), but also all the negative comments about this dark spot here and that bit of roughness there and those damn white fillings that she can’t see what’s tooth and what’s filling.

For once, I’d like a dentist visit to be a positive experience.

2 days of kitten shit this week, 2 days where it magically made it into the toilet bowl. More litter may have been the key, vinegar, getting home earlier (though, last night…didn’t get home till 9:30…stupid job) or all the attention. I dunno. But it’s been nice to be not going backward right now.

My mom is coming to visit this weekend, (despite the fact that I have to work…ooooo baby!) so I might just cut the next ring out Friday night. She can be home with the baby for a lot of the day, which is really good for moral support, which Pekoe seems to need at times. Or maybe we’ll just sit at this step for another week. But I’m hoping to go /visit/ mom and dad next weekend, so maybe that weekend is a time to sit still for a while. Hrrrmmmmm.

Huge triple venti latte before class this morning. It was bitter cold, and my parking permit? All the way across campus from class. By the time I got to class, the coffee was cold.

But, I didn’t have any trouble staying awake in class…or for the rest of the day, for that matter.

I should just buy an espresso machine…I don’t think I’ll ever kick the caffeine habit.

So, the accident I marked as her not feeling well (read: a really big puddle of kitty shit) appears not to have been an isolated incident. I don’t know if it’s that I didn’t clean it up well enough to get rid of the smell (yes, this time I sprayed the whole bathroom down in vinegar) or there wasn’t enough litter on the toilet ring, or she really couldn’t hold it a second time, but there it was, another huge puddle of liquid kitty shit on the bathroom floor tonight when I got home.

I think I just have to start getting home earlier in the evening to keep an eye on her.

::sigh::

We had our first major setback. I’m glad it happened now, but I’m worried, of course.

Pekoe came out with me when I took out the recyclables. Sometimes I let her do this…she likes to roll on the concrete and investigate the lawn. I usually have to chase her down and bring her back in, which I did. As we went inside, her stomach was gurgling and I heard her farting.

Apparently, she didn’t make it. Massive puddle of kitty diarrhea on the bathroom rug. Might have been some in the toilet, but it’s hard to tell with the orangy brown litter. Also some on the bathroom floor, where it missed the rug.

I’m blaming the accident on myself for picking her up when she was obviously holding it, on the worm treatment for giving her the runs, and definitely not her fault.

But it still could cause problems. I hosed the rug down, and it’s now soaking in a vinegar solution, so she shouldn’t associate the rug with poop. Also going to mop the floor in there.

She seems to be ok now. Sprinted all over the house a few times, now settling down to groom herself on my chair.

I don’t think we’ll be expanding the CK for at least a week, though.

I made this resolution, and as of yet, have done nothing about it.

But! I paid $50 and registered for a Intermediate Adult swim class at UMD. It starts next week. Hopefully that will get me in the pool, force me to make the time, and remind myself how good it is to swim.

Hopefully.

Hopefully I’m not the fattest, least in shape person there. ‘cause that would suck. I mean, someone has to be…but it’d be good for my confidence if I could at least keep up.

My little kitty going tinkle. And it actually tinkling. Meaning she’s getting some aim, and hitting the water.

Granted, she’s also scratching at the litter, but only a little. Such a good girl.

Except for the whole scratching my leather chair bit…