I have been completely manic today. I've been going virtually non-stop since I got up this morning cleaning, scrubbing and sorting stuff. Not sure if it's the nice weather that's got me going or if my brain just decided it had had enough of the grime/mess. Whatever the reason, I'm just going to call it really late spring cleaning and be glad to have a clean house. Well, the upstairs anyway. Downstairs is tomorrow. |
I'm thinking about recording myself and looping it endlessly whenever Josie goes outside since I say it so much... "Josie, please stop drinking out of the birdbath, honey. That's dirty." |
Mr Moo and I were just outside. We can't get over how bright Venus is tonight. I thought it was an airplane at first! If it's clear where you live, go outside and take a look. You can't miss it, but here is some information in case you need help locating it. |
Back from the vet's. We got good news, a little bit of bad news and some more good news. Good news #1 - Josie had a thorough neurological exam and everything checked out okay, which rules out a brain tumor and several other things. It's going to be several days before we get the results of her blood panel, but, since she hasn't had another episode or any other mobility issues since Saturday night, the vet is very confident it was an isolated incident and I shouldn't worry too much unless something comes back wonky with her bloodwork. He also said he was amazed at how healthy and what good shape she is in given that she's 15 years old. Little bit of bad news - Zoe had a fecal exam to see what's causing her tummy troubles. Normally, when there is diarrhea involved, they see overabundance of bacteria in the gut. Zoe, however, had virtually none. The vet was amazed she was able to digest anything all right now, there are that few. She also had a large number of two types of single-celled intestinal parasites. Blech. And, her colon was inflamed. It's no wonder she's not feeling well. Good news #2 - All of Zoe's problems can be cleared up easily with antibiotics, which we are starting today. We're also going to start giving her something called FortiFlora in a couple days. It's a powder that contains good bacteria, which will repopulate her intestinal tract. She should be completely back to normal in about 10 days. Bonus bit of good news - Zoe has gained a little bit of weight. Yay! I forgot to ask how much though. Oops. So, all in all, it was a positive visit and it looks like everyone is going to be just fine. I'm nearly $250 poorer for it all (ACK!), but it's all worth it when it comes to my babies. |
We have to be at the vee-eee-tee in less than an hour, so it's time to start cat rustling. Fortunately, I thought ahead this time (makes for a change, doesn't it?). I put the kitties' jingle bell collars on them yesterday because we went outside for a while in the evening. Rather than taking them off when we came inside last night and having to chase them around the house for age to get them back on today, I just left them on. Even better, when they try to run away when I get the carriers out in a minute, I'll be able to hear where they're going. Sorry, kitties. There is no escaping today. |
"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 100 Here it is, fishies! Round 100 of the Moo's World "Name That Movie" contest. Woot! Remember to be very specific with your guesses this week. Enjoy! |
"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 099 Round 099 is still open! |
Just got off the phone with the vet. We went over a list of things that could be responsible for Josie's episode this weekend, which included syncope, epilepsy, and stroke. The most likely culprit, given her age (15) and otherwise perfect health - focal seizure. We've got an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. He wants to check her out and do a blood panel to check for any infections. We, obviously, will treat her if she's got an infection and, if she's clear, we'll do nothing but keep watching her to see if it happens again. If it does happen again, then we'll start talking about seizure medications. I'll also be taking Zoe in for an exam tomorrow. As you may recall, she has kidney disease. Her kidneys are half the size they should be and she's dropped a scary amount of weight over the past few years. We've been trying to get her on prescription kidney-friendly cat food, but all of the brands we've tried have given her diarrhea that I can't even begin to describe. She hasn't recovered from the latest bout quite as quickly or as well as I would have liked, so we're going to check her intestinal bacterial levels to see if anything wonky is going on there. We're also going to try to plan B for her kidney issues, which, I believe is daily medication for the remainder of her life. We're moving into that "frequent and expensive vet bills" stage of our cats' lives. They're getting up there in age (Josie is and Zoe will be 15 this year), so it's not a huge surprise. It's what happens when pets get older. However, if my reaction Saturday night was any indication, I know I'm totally unprepared for the end with them. When the time comes, I am not going to do well at all. Not. At. All. |
I'm feeling a lot better today, but I still have that lingering hacking cough that I always get at the end of a cold. And, if past colds are any indications, I'll have it for another week or so. Oh, yay. I can deal with the fact that it's making me have trouble breathing all the time and it's nigh impossible to sleep at night. However, the one thing that is really frightening me is the fact that I can feel how week the muscles in my back have gotten from all the coughing and can tell that they're just this side of going out on me. The last thing I need right now is for my back to go out. Not that there is ever a time when it's the first thing I need, but I really, really don't want to spend the rest of this week flat on my back in bed. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step See? I told you. According to The Scale That LiesTM, I was up 4 lbs and back to last weekend's weight before my shower today. It also claims that I lost 2 lbs while I was in the shower. I give up on that scale. It's beyond hopeless. |
Add one more to the plethora of creatures captured on the Random MooCam - a fly on the window! |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step I haven't worked out all week because I've been sick with this stupid cold. Based on the amount of phlegm I coughed up while working out, I probably should have skipped it today, too. I pushed myself to work out even though I'm still not feeling great because today was weigh-in day. Last chance workout and all that. If I feel even mildly crappy tomorrow, I will skip working out again. I don't want to make myself even more sick than I already am. So, today was weigh-in day. According to our lying bastard of a scale, last week's weight loss: 4 lbs. Yeah, right. We know our scale is not very accurate to begin with and it gets even more innacurate when it's been exposed to moisture (on more than one occasion, I've "lost" three pounds just by taking a shower, according to that scale). Since I didn't get in to weigh myself until right after Mr Moo had taken his shower, I wasn't shocked to see a wonky reading. I was expecting to see a bit of a loss since I ate well all week and the bloat from my period finally went away, but 4 lbs? Come on, Mister Scale. Who are you trying to kid here? Unfortunately, we don't have another scale in the house for me to get a second opinion, so I've got to go with the reading it gave me. I'm sure my weight will be up at least a couple pounds tomorrow and, hopefully, I'll get a more accurate reading next Sunday. On a brighter note, even if I only really lost one pound this past week, it means I have now lost 40 lbs from my highest weight. Yay! I was stuck at 39 for a long while, so it feels great to finally have broken through this barrier. I've been asked about my actual weight and losses quite often and I've always hesitated to post specifics because, well, frankly, I was afraid. Afraid of being embarrassed by people knowing how badly I had let myself go and afraid of being ashamed if I wasn't able to meet my weight loss goals. Now that I've hit this milestone, I think it's high time I sucked it up and just posted my info. I'm really determined to lose the weight and keep it off this time, and what better way to hold myself accountable (finally) than to let the whole world see my progress. No more surreptitious quitting and hoping no one will notice. So, here it is: Height: 5' 2" Highest Weight: 167 (January 14, 2006) Current Weight: 124 Lowest Weight: 110 (February 15, 2002) Goal Weight: 110? 115? I'm short and small-framed, so 110 is not unreasonable. However, I'd rather be a bit more muscular than not, which would add some poundage. I guess I'll go with 110 for now and see about revising as I get closer to it. Pounds Lost: 43 It's been a long and tedious journey so far. Getting home from Christmas vacation last January (2006) and seeing 167 on the scale certainly was an eye-opener, but it still wasn't the ultimate catalyst. Yes, I groaned and wished I hadn't eaten quite so many Hershey Kisses while we were away, but I had kind of resigned myself to being fat and did my best to ignore it. It was seeing the photos of myself a few weeks later that really knocked me down. I was obese and needed to do something about it. Over the course of 2006, I half-assed dieted (mostly tried to stop eating so much pizza and other take-out) and even less than half-assed attempted to work out. I did manage to lose about 25 pounds by the time autumn rolled around, but then the holidays hit. And, boy, do they hit hard. I shot up several pounds within a few weeks. By the time January of this year rolled around, I could tell I was heading right back to where I had been. I knew if I didn't nip it in the bud and soon, I'd probably end up gaining back all of the weight I had lost and then some. And, no one wants that. Phase 2 of my current weight loss journey began in mid-February of this year. I started my food plan and got a lot more serious about working out on a regular basis. I began by going online and doing some homework. I started at the USDA's food pyramid website. I knew I wasn't eating nearly enough fruits or vegetables and virtually no whole grains at all. This had to change. I mapped out how many servings of everything I should be having daily/weekly and made a chart. I then started a list of foods along with their calories, fat and fiber (I also calculate the Weight Watchers points just for the frell of it) per USDA serving size using this website. I use this list to plan out my meals, making sure I eat an even distribution across the food groups each day. I don't always eat all of the servings recommended per day because I am restricting calories (moderately restricting, not starving myself like I've done in the past), but I do make sure I'm not eating too much from any one food group. I now eat a lot of what I call "naked food", a measured amount of a particular food cooked simply (lots o' grilling and steaming going on here) without anything else added (especially things like oil or butter) or without mixing things together, at least not until all of the individual components have been measured out precisely. For a lot of people, this would be much too bland of a diet, but it makes it extremely easy to monitor the exact serving size and amount of calories, and, since I'm a fussy eater anyway, it works well for me. Dieting this way takes work and sacrifice, and it's certainly not for everyone. However, if you're as anal retentive and compulsive as I am, it does work. It takes a lot of time to look up all the information in the beginning and there's a lot of measuring and weighing involved, but, after the first few weeks, it becomes much easier. I'm heading into my 16th full week of this and it's become second nature. I have my little scale, measuring cups and spoons out on a tray always ready to go. I keep my food list and weekly chart on the counter so I never have to search for it. I also try to cook larger quantities of things, like brown rice, then measure out and refrigerate single servings for the rest of the week, which is a big help. Like I said, not for everyone, but, if you're willing to give it a go, it does work. I'm living proof of that. |
Josie gave us an absolutely terrifying fright last night. Mr Moo and I were lying on the bed with the kitties watching TV. Josie got down and went into the hallway to get a drink from the large water dish we keep right outside the bedroom door. As she was drinking, she cried out, half fell into the water dish and started backing away like something was terribly wrong with her legs. Mr Moo jumped up and immediately followed her into the bonus room (I was on the far side of the bed so it took me a bit longer to get there). He said she was not using all of her legs, listing and kind of walking around in a circle like you do when you're really dizzy. We both immediately thought "stroke". We laid her down in the hallway and I got a towel to dry her off a bit. We waited a few minutes then tried to stand her up again. She wouldn't. I started bawling at this point and Mr Moo went off to get the phone number for the 24 hour emergency vet clinic in Portland. I scooped her up and brought her to lie on the bed with me again. I figured, if these were going to be her last minutes ever in our house (in my mind, I was already certain we were taking her to the vet and would end up putting her to sleep before the night was over), I wanted her to be in her most favorite place: on the bed being held by momma. As I was holding her, I noticed she was starting to press on my arm with both of her feet. With a microscopic ray of hope, I set her down again. She didn't stand right away, but she did sit with weight on all four feet. I hollered for Mr Moo to hold off on the phone call for a bit and come see. I went to the far side of the room and tried to get her to walk to me. She wouldn't. Thinking she just needed a bit more incentive, I got the container of treats I keep upstairs. That was all she needed. She stood up and came right to me. She was limping a little, but she was definitely walking using all four legs. It wasn't too much longer after that before she was walking completely normally again. We really knew she was fine when she jumped up on her box then onto the window seat without any hesistation, started cleaning herself and rolling around looking for some belly rubs. We ended up calling the emergency vet clinic to be safe. They immediately suggested stroke, too, but agreed it wasn't very likely once we told them it completely resolved within about 20 minutes. There are a few medical conditions it could still be, but we all agreed that it was most likely just a really bad muscle cramp. We will still keep a very close eye on her for a few days. If anything even remotely similar happens again, we will take her in immediately. I will also be calling our regular vet on Tuesday (tomorrow is a holiday here in the US and they're closed) to see if I should bring her in for an exam or tests. In the meantime, we're watching her like a hawk and the princess is enjoying all the extra attention. |
Remember the infection that gave me a bad sore throat earlier this week? It moved into my head/sinuses for a few days and now it looks like it's moving back down and into my chest. Gotta love being sick. Not. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the other room. Just follow the sound of the coughing. |
Had a new visitor caught on the MooCam a couple nights ago. |
It's the giant Goldfinch that ate Tokyo!!! |
Okay, fishies. Cough 'em up. Tell me your best kept secrets to buying ripe and flavorful oranges. I just ate one that I thought was ready and it tasted terrible. Hardly any flavor at all. So, teach me. Go! |
The rain eventually let up this afternoon and I ventured outside for a while to do some yardwork. I cleaned and refilled the birdbath... |
I woke up with a raging sore throat and inflamed tonsils this morning. Yuck. I took some ibuprofen and have been drinking loads of water, which have helped quite a bit. I was beginning to think I felt well enough to go outside and work on getting some of our new plants and vegetables in the ground, but it's just started to rain again. Sigh. I can't win. |
We're going to see Spidey tonight. Leaving in a few minutes. I better get the lead out. Cyas! EDIT: "Corny" doesn't even begin to describe this movie. It was so overacted and the story left a lot to be desired. However, the effects were amazing and it still was incredibly entertaining to watch. It would have been even better if the three yahoos sitting in front of me could have managed to shut their yappers for more than two minutes at a time. I think they were drunk because they laughed at everything, even the parts that weren't funny. Morons. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Low Impact Step Weigh-in day today. Last week's weight loss: 0 lbs. I'm not shocked. I didn't stick to my food plan very well last week. It's a new day and a new week though. Time to re-focus. |
So much for putting in our vegetable garden and planting flowers today. It's raining and doesn't show signs of stopping anytime soon. Bleh. |
We had a busy day today. We went to the bank to meet with our investment person for about an hour. We stopped by my in-laws' house to pick up some chains so Mr Moo can pull the photinia stumps out of the front yard tomorrow (assuming it's not raining). We went to five different grocery stores to do our grocery shopping for the week (don't ask). And, finally, we went to the plant nursery to buy some flowers and vegetable starts for our garden. It doesn't look like much when I write it down, but all of that took pretty much all day. That's what Saturdays are for though, isn't it? |
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TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Low Max
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Total Body Sculpting This is the bonus weight training workout on the Low Impact Step DVD and today was my first time through it. It didn't seem too bad while I was doing it, but I have a feeling I'm going to be crippled come tomorrow. None of the exercises were difficult, but there were a lot of reps. EDIT: Not feeling too bad this morning. My back and shoulders are a little stiff, but, otherwise, not bad at all. |
I don't know about you, but that's looking an awful lot like Miss Zoe walking around on the kitchen counter where she isn't supposed to be. She is so busted. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Low Impact Step Today's workout was much easier. The workout itself wasn't as intense as yesterday's and my body just coped better. I only felt like I might die towards the end rather than being certain of it. |
I am Lobster Woman! I will get you with my giant red lobster claws! |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Body Fusion I hadn't worked out for a week before today and it showed. Ow. It's amazing how flabby one can get in a week. |
It is an absolutely gorgeous day in Portland today. All I want to do is to go outside, lie in the grass in the sun and take a nap with the kitties. But, alas, work beckons. Sigh. |
"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 096 Round 096 is still open! |
Weigh-in day today. Last week's weight loss: 2 lbs. This means, to date, I have lost a total of 39 lbs. I still haven't set a specific goal weight, just a range, so I have anywhere from 13 to 18 more to go. Mr Moo is going to take me to Dairy Queen when I hit goal, so I think I will try to hit the lower goal instead of the higher so I can eat a bucket or two of ice cream and not feel too guilty about it. I cannot wait to have ice cream again! |
We're having my in-laws over for Mother's Day today. We'll be grilling steaks and chicken outside. Keep your fingers crossed that the rain holds off. Random Cam has been moved for the day, if anyone is interested. |
Look who was in our backyard again this morning. The second shot shows he's definitely got a collar on. Still not sure if he's a parolee or an escapee though. |
I realize these images are incredibly blurry, but both Mr Moo and I are fairly certain this was a coyote darting across our backyard last night. The size and color are about right. And, Mr Moo spotted one crossing the street late one night back when we were dog-sitting Daisy, so we know they're in the area. |
Me? |
Today I made a bridal veil. |
Mr Moo took me to see the specialist this afternoon about my wonky bloodwork results from a few weeks back. I am now officially diagnosed as having thalassemia, which, turns out, is quite common in people of Asian descent. Because of a single defective gene somewhere, my red blood cells are abnormally small and there are an excessive number of them. I was assured there is no cause for alarm. There really aren't any visible symptoms or treatment for this disease. It's just something I have. The only time it would become an issue is if Mr Moo and I ever decide to have children because, if he happens to carry the same defective gene (very unlikely because he's Caucasian), there is an increased chance that our children could develop a more severe form of the disease. Since we're not planning to have children, it's not an issue, so we declined to do any further genetic testing at this time. Needless to say, I'm more than relieved. |
One of the lawn dudes was here yesterday. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Low Impact Step Had a decent workout this afternoon. It's a good thing because I feel like I've eaten a metric ton of food today. Granted, it's been good food (lots of vegetables and whole grain stuff), but I still feel like I ate too much. Discovered a new food that both Mr Moo and I like this evening - edamame, otherwise known as soybeans. I bought a bag of frozen already shelled beans. A few minutes in the microwave with a bit of water and voila! I wasn't expecting to like them, given my abhorrence of all other things bean, but was pleasantly surprised to find them quite mild with a slight nutty flavor. I shall be adding them to my food plan rotation. |
"NAME THAT MOVIE" CONTEST - 096 Round 096 is still open! I thought for sure someone would have guessed this one last week. Anyone? Anyone? |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Basic Step Mr Moo worked out with me today. Let's just say he's not a big fan of step aerobics and leave it at that. Today was also weigh-in day. Last week's weight loss: 0 lbs. Argh! I shouldn't have had that donut last night. I was on target to drop two pounds all week and it shot back up last night. Frrrrrrrrustrating. |
Do you have a cat or cats? EDIT: |
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TODAY'S WORKOUT: Cathe Friedrich's Body Fusion
Moo's 10 Second Movie Review You new Dum-dum. You give me gum-gum... |
Thunderbolts and lightning, very, very frightening me! Time to turn everything off for a while. |
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Tamilee Webb's Tighter Assets - Weight Loss I hadn't worked out in six days and was long overdue. It felt good to get my sorry self moving around a bit. I neglected to post on Sunday, weigh-in day, that last week's weight loss was 2 lbs. Progress! |
Since our yard is one of the only ones in our subdivision without a fence, a lot of animals use it as a shortcut to get around. Mrs Ducky cut through with her new babies yesterday and a few images were caught on the Random MooCam. |
From this year's Chick-fil-A calendar, The Good, The Bad and The Hairy: |
