Apparently kitties have dental needs as well as people do. I am worried about my kitties' teeth because they eat wet food, and I had heard in the past that dry food helps them keep their teeth cleaner...but with Teus' special needs, he has to have wet food.
So, I asked the vet what I should do...they didn't seem that concerned at this point, but did point us in the direction of some seafood-flavored cat toothpaste, which - unlike people toothpaste - is meant to be swallowed. Tonight I attempted to rub Teus' teeth with the fishy substance - which he seems to think tastes good, which is great! I am not sure how much plaque removal a finger can do, though, so I think I may need to get an actual toothbrush from the vet.
What a fiasco. I am only writing about this because the whole thing is so funny. You know, I have done so many things for this cat - including 2:00 am emergency vet trips, attempting to evacuate him myself (that did NOT work), giving him iv fluids, feeding him pills wrapped in cream cheese, feeding him liquid medicine from a squirter (FUN!), sitting in the bathroom with him for hours waiting for him to pee in his special plastic litter so we could take a urine sample to the vet, leaving him at the U of Mn animal hospital and praying that his surgery worked...loving him when I didn't know what else to do...
Anyway, it all makes trying to brush his teeth seem pretty mundane. I do think it is HILARIOUS that the bottle of paste says that their product makes keeping your pet's teeth healthy "as easy as 1-2-3!" I'd like to see them try to wrestle with Teus. :)
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Being Green
I just discovered the Seward Co-op. That is pretty lame since it is about five blocks from where I live, but it just isn't in a direction I go very often. Unfortunately James and I usually do our grocery shopping late at night, and the co-op is only open until 10 - but it is a beautiful place, and I got all excited about being earth-friendly when I went in there. :)
The reason I went there in the first place was because I was looking for cardboard-applicator tampons. (sorry for the overshare...) I have been so frustrated with Playtex, my brand of choice, because they seem to have discontinued anything that isn't plastic - and I can't use the ones Tampax makes with the open ends. With everyone so focused on ways they can help the environment, it becomes very frustrating to be a woman and have no choice over how you deal with this issue. ANYWAY, Seventh Generation makes chlorine-free, rounded-tip, environmentally friendly tampons, and I am willing to spend about $2 more on them so I don't feel that horrible guilt every month.
It's funny, because I used to not be very interested in being green. It seemed so complicated, and like something only those weird people who didn't shower or shave did. :) (come on, you know what I mean...) But I think I have finally realized that in order to help out, I don't have to completely re-make my life. I just keep watching for changes that I can make, and then I try to be consistent about them and incorporate them into my life. I am still completely addicted to my raspberry seltzer water, which comes in plastic bottles. I can't help the plastic there, because the carbonation won't stay in otherwise...but I recycle my bottles, and try to find other ways to be responsible. Here are some things I have changed this past year:
1. I only wash clothes on cold.
2. I use plant-based laundry soap and dishwasher detergent.
3. I am starting to buy vegetable-based, natural soap to use in the shower.
4. I have two re-usable bags that fold up and travel in my purse, so I now only get plastic bags once in a while to replenish our kitty-litter supply.
5. We are trying out Seventh Generation toilet paper, and it is actually pretty nice!
6. I have a lot of cleaners to use up, but when I buy household cleaners now I only buy plant-based, environmentally friendly kinds.
7. When it is possible, I buy natural and organic products at the grocery store - I would like to do more than I do, but at this point sometimes that is just too pricey.
8. I just found chlorine-free, biodegradable tampons!!! :)
When I live in a house (hopefully sometime soon!) I am hoping to get into gardening, and to learn how to compost. I hope that I am actually able to do this, because I think that it would be a really satisfying hobby for me. I currently have to live on a lot of wishful thinking since I am still waiting to start a "real" life...
So. I think in a way all of this is just me finding one more way that I have to try to "work on" myself. It is really hard for me to just "be;" I need to constantly be assessing my shortcomings and trying to make them better. In this case, though, regardless of the reasoning the end result is good, so I won't complain.
Off to work on writing my dissertation so that I CAN have a real life sometime soon...
The reason I went there in the first place was because I was looking for cardboard-applicator tampons. (sorry for the overshare...) I have been so frustrated with Playtex, my brand of choice, because they seem to have discontinued anything that isn't plastic - and I can't use the ones Tampax makes with the open ends. With everyone so focused on ways they can help the environment, it becomes very frustrating to be a woman and have no choice over how you deal with this issue. ANYWAY, Seventh Generation makes chlorine-free, rounded-tip, environmentally friendly tampons, and I am willing to spend about $2 more on them so I don't feel that horrible guilt every month.
It's funny, because I used to not be very interested in being green. It seemed so complicated, and like something only those weird people who didn't shower or shave did. :) (come on, you know what I mean...) But I think I have finally realized that in order to help out, I don't have to completely re-make my life. I just keep watching for changes that I can make, and then I try to be consistent about them and incorporate them into my life. I am still completely addicted to my raspberry seltzer water, which comes in plastic bottles. I can't help the plastic there, because the carbonation won't stay in otherwise...but I recycle my bottles, and try to find other ways to be responsible. Here are some things I have changed this past year:
1. I only wash clothes on cold.
2. I use plant-based laundry soap and dishwasher detergent.
3. I am starting to buy vegetable-based, natural soap to use in the shower.
4. I have two re-usable bags that fold up and travel in my purse, so I now only get plastic bags once in a while to replenish our kitty-litter supply.
5. We are trying out Seventh Generation toilet paper, and it is actually pretty nice!
6. I have a lot of cleaners to use up, but when I buy household cleaners now I only buy plant-based, environmentally friendly kinds.
7. When it is possible, I buy natural and organic products at the grocery store - I would like to do more than I do, but at this point sometimes that is just too pricey.
8. I just found chlorine-free, biodegradable tampons!!! :)
When I live in a house (hopefully sometime soon!) I am hoping to get into gardening, and to learn how to compost. I hope that I am actually able to do this, because I think that it would be a really satisfying hobby for me. I currently have to live on a lot of wishful thinking since I am still waiting to start a "real" life...
So. I think in a way all of this is just me finding one more way that I have to try to "work on" myself. It is really hard for me to just "be;" I need to constantly be assessing my shortcomings and trying to make them better. In this case, though, regardless of the reasoning the end result is good, so I won't complain.
Off to work on writing my dissertation so that I CAN have a real life sometime soon...
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Dissertation Time
Ugh.
I am sitting here at my computer trying to find the inspiration and direction to start the monster...the dissertation. Now, my degree is a DMA, so it isn't even REALLY a dissertation...it doesn't have to be as long, and I have a bit more freedom in what I am talking about. Ultimately, the goal is to turn it in so that my degree is complete and I can get a job.
Of course, I also want this to be something valuable - something that makes a contribution to my profession - and I don't want to be embarrassed of what I turn in. Writing scares me, and with those additional thoughts weighing on my mind, I just keep sitting here and taking care of every other little thing I can think of and not getting started on the most important one.
ARRRGHHH!!!!
Sometimes I wonder if I have taken the right path. I mean, here I am - 32 years old and I have yet to start having a "real" life. I don't know where I am going to live next year, what I will be doing, IF I will have a job...I feel like by this point in my life it is fair to expect a certain degree of normalcy, but there really hasn't been one. I guess I have to remember that it will (hopefully) all pay off in the end, and that someday I will look back and realize it was all worthwhile. It is just hard right now...
Enough complaining, and back to TRYING to finish. :)
I am sitting here at my computer trying to find the inspiration and direction to start the monster...the dissertation. Now, my degree is a DMA, so it isn't even REALLY a dissertation...it doesn't have to be as long, and I have a bit more freedom in what I am talking about. Ultimately, the goal is to turn it in so that my degree is complete and I can get a job.
Of course, I also want this to be something valuable - something that makes a contribution to my profession - and I don't want to be embarrassed of what I turn in. Writing scares me, and with those additional thoughts weighing on my mind, I just keep sitting here and taking care of every other little thing I can think of and not getting started on the most important one.
ARRRGHHH!!!!
Sometimes I wonder if I have taken the right path. I mean, here I am - 32 years old and I have yet to start having a "real" life. I don't know where I am going to live next year, what I will be doing, IF I will have a job...I feel like by this point in my life it is fair to expect a certain degree of normalcy, but there really hasn't been one. I guess I have to remember that it will (hopefully) all pay off in the end, and that someday I will look back and realize it was all worthwhile. It is just hard right now...
Enough complaining, and back to TRYING to finish. :)
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Living "Alone"
James left for St. Peter this afternoon. He will be living there most days this semester, as he is doing a sabbatical replacement at Gustavus. It just makes no sense for him to drive back and forth every day - it would be such a waste of gas - and yet it is lonely not having him here.
He was gone for part of last semester as well, and we got through it. I think the weirdest thing, though, is that in order to adjust to him being gone, I have to re-create how I live my life. In order to not just walk around and miss him, I create my own structure and one that keeps me busy and sane. However, when he comes back, it almost becomes strange to re-incorporate togetherness into my schedule! Not strange "bad," but just strange.
I do tend to be a pretty solitary person, so in ways it is easier for me than I can imagine it is for others - but I also won't make the effort to surround myself with other people, so that means I am left to my own thoughts most of the time. Maybe that is okay...and maybe it will make me insane. I guess it remains to be seen. :) At least I have my kitties!
He was gone for part of last semester as well, and we got through it. I think the weirdest thing, though, is that in order to adjust to him being gone, I have to re-create how I live my life. In order to not just walk around and miss him, I create my own structure and one that keeps me busy and sane. However, when he comes back, it almost becomes strange to re-incorporate togetherness into my schedule! Not strange "bad," but just strange.
I do tend to be a pretty solitary person, so in ways it is easier for me than I can imagine it is for others - but I also won't make the effort to surround myself with other people, so that means I am left to my own thoughts most of the time. Maybe that is okay...and maybe it will make me insane. I guess it remains to be seen. :) At least I have my kitties!
Books I Read in 2008
27. Family Tree (Barbara Delinsky) ***
26. Sister Noon (Karen Joy Fowler) ***
25. The Accidental (Ali Smith)
24. The Pact (Jodi Picoult) ***
23. Fire Watch (Connie Willis)
22. The Tenth Circle (Jodi Picoult)
21. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy) ***
20. Salem Falls (Jodi Picoult) ***
19. Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) ***
18. Nineteen Minutes (Jodi Picoult) ***
17. Whitethorn Woods (Maeve Binchy)
16. The Edible Woman (Margaret Atwood)
15. The Lady and the Unicorn (Tracy Chevalier)
14. Transgressions (Sarah Dunant)
13. A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle) ***
12. The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster) ***
11. The Water Method Man (John Irving)
10. Impossible Things (Connie Willis)
9. Water for Elephants (Sara Gruen)
8. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) ***
7. Doomsday Book (Connie Willis) ************
6. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)
5. The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne) ***
4. Beethoven's Hair (Russell Martin) ***
3. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) ***
2. The House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
1. Emma (Jane Austen) ***
26. Sister Noon (Karen Joy Fowler) ***
25. The Accidental (Ali Smith)
24. The Pact (Jodi Picoult) ***
23. Fire Watch (Connie Willis)
22. The Tenth Circle (Jodi Picoult)
21. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy) ***
20. Salem Falls (Jodi Picoult) ***
19. Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez) ***
18. Nineteen Minutes (Jodi Picoult) ***
17. Whitethorn Woods (Maeve Binchy)
16. The Edible Woman (Margaret Atwood)
15. The Lady and the Unicorn (Tracy Chevalier)
14. Transgressions (Sarah Dunant)
13. A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle) ***
12. The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster) ***
11. The Water Method Man (John Irving)
10. Impossible Things (Connie Willis)
9. Water for Elephants (Sara Gruen)
8. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett) ***
7. Doomsday Book (Connie Willis) ************
6. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)
5. The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne) ***
4. Beethoven's Hair (Russell Martin) ***
3. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) ***
2. The House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
1. Emma (Jane Austen) ***
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Hello...here I am!!!
Well, here I am...
Starting when I was a little girl, I kept a journal - for quite a while, it was a daily ritual. When I was in elementary school I wrote pretty regularly for short spurts and then left it alone for a while, but once I started junior high, this became a very important thing for me. I wrote every day - I couldn't go to sleep without at least writing a few sentences. (Embarassingly, but not surprisingly for those of you who know me, I also wrote down what I wore each day so as not to accidentally wear the same thing too many times in a row...) This lasted, for the most part, all the way through college and into my first job. At that point it became a morning ritual; a time to reflect on my hopes, fears, and the like before starting my day for real.
Then I met James, and my life was turned upside down - for the better, of course - but I started writing him letters and emails and my journalling became almost completely a thing of the past. I mention email...and of course, now, the internet and the computer have taken over this morning time.
Part of me thinks that is really sad. There was something to be said for the silence, the pen on the page, and dealing with my own thoughts and my own thoughts alone. But things change, and while I try to get back to my journal every so often, I don't know if it will ever be the same.
I guess that is what inspired me to try out this whole blogging thing. Typing seems like such a natural conduit for thoughts now, and maybe if I have this place to go, I might actually start recording my thoughts again. So, here goes...and I am going to try to keep this mine, even though I welcome you to view it. I don't pretend to think that my life and my thoughts are interesting enough to hold the attention of all sorts of people...and that is not why I am starting this. I do welcome thoughts...but they are not necessary...
Happy 2009, everyone. I pray we all have a good year.
Starting when I was a little girl, I kept a journal - for quite a while, it was a daily ritual. When I was in elementary school I wrote pretty regularly for short spurts and then left it alone for a while, but once I started junior high, this became a very important thing for me. I wrote every day - I couldn't go to sleep without at least writing a few sentences. (Embarassingly, but not surprisingly for those of you who know me, I also wrote down what I wore each day so as not to accidentally wear the same thing too many times in a row...) This lasted, for the most part, all the way through college and into my first job. At that point it became a morning ritual; a time to reflect on my hopes, fears, and the like before starting my day for real.
Then I met James, and my life was turned upside down - for the better, of course - but I started writing him letters and emails and my journalling became almost completely a thing of the past. I mention email...and of course, now, the internet and the computer have taken over this morning time.
Part of me thinks that is really sad. There was something to be said for the silence, the pen on the page, and dealing with my own thoughts and my own thoughts alone. But things change, and while I try to get back to my journal every so often, I don't know if it will ever be the same.
I guess that is what inspired me to try out this whole blogging thing. Typing seems like such a natural conduit for thoughts now, and maybe if I have this place to go, I might actually start recording my thoughts again. So, here goes...and I am going to try to keep this mine, even though I welcome you to view it. I don't pretend to think that my life and my thoughts are interesting enough to hold the attention of all sorts of people...and that is not why I am starting this. I do welcome thoughts...but they are not necessary...
Happy 2009, everyone. I pray we all have a good year.
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