O Cuteness of Cutenesses

Can my kittens get any sweeter? Elena fell asleep stretched out across my chest while I was watching TV this afternoon. I soon took a hint and disturbed her to totter to my bed, where I stretched out with a kitten pressed against the curve of my back, another sharing my pillow. Every now and then a little paw stroking my cheek or pressing against my nose.

When I rolled over, they followed suit - one kitten draped over my leg, nose resting against the arch of my foot, the other curled into the space between my tummy and my pillow. I woke up before they did.

A stark contrast compared to the scene this morning, when I wished for a hemlock cocktail to appear in my hand - a touch of food poisoning, and oh how glad I am to be feeling better, if a little malnourished and dehydrated.

Tonight

I am entertaining guests tonight for the first time in my new apartment!!

I got home from work and laid down for a nap with my kittens, pressed together against my torso and resting their noses on my arm... so incredibly sweet. Now I've cleaned up and am finishing putting things in their place and opening the blinds to let some sunlight in. Rob will be here soon with the aperatifs - gin, tonic, lemons, limes, I have a nice bottle of red wine, Rob will be bringing some cheese and crustini. We'll stay here for a cocktail or two before heading to 1789 for their summer special - three courses for $35.

Our reservations are for 9pm, a civilized hour, and Rob and I both love dining with these two friends. Dining is best when with people who truly enjoy food.

The End of the World

I've always been a faithful crossword girl, but the other day I gave in and let Rob give me a Sudoku tutorial... then I tried just one puzzle and got nowhere and didn't like it very much... but I thought I might just try again because I was a little bored... and then today I downloaded a 28-day trial of the endless Sudoku program (here)... and thought, okay, I'll try just one... and I WON and it is SO SATISFYING to see all the space filled up with numbers perfectly working out. Ahhhh.......

Slight Rejuvenation

Embarking on twelve straight days of work, I feel slightly rejuvenated after a film, pot of tea, and a few tunes at home alone. Natasha slept between my knees the entire duration of the film. I could feel her purring. So precious!

This morning I mistook the USPS mailbox outside my apartment building for a trash can (sorry postal carrier, you'll have a paper towel with some crumbs waiting for you) and tried to use my work ID to enter the metro station. Fortunately I am amused rather than irritated by my mishaps. Things bode well, for now.

I Feel:

Underhydrated;
Flabby;
Grumpy;
Inarticulate;
Short;
Short-tempered;
Uninteresting;
Fat;
Inattentive;
Annoying.

Suffice it to say I am having a bad day.

Irksome

I am eight minutes into my very first episode of Emeril Live and I could not be more annoyed. What is with all the weird sound effects? Why did the entire audience cheer when he added garlic?

I don't get it. Give me Giada de Laurentiis any time.

Nice Evening

Kittens playing on the floor, a new book, a bottle of Chianti, yoga, air conditioning. I made a light salad of spinach, avocado, smoked salmon, and bleu cheese, took a nap, watched The Simpsons, did the dishes. Found out that a good friend went to the pub last minute and that made me sad since tonight is session night but I stayed home.

Things are getting rough. Since I'm "Essential Personnel" I have to work six days a week (for the next 30 days or so) because of this. I'm not complaining too terribly much... I'll be able to sleep in a little bit on my sixth day and still pull in quite a bit of overtime pay, which I need.

Such is life in my line of work. Time off, including weekends, is always conditional. Sometimes things can't wait until Monday. Sometimes working on Saturday means catching a rapist, and not working might mean that he strikes again. So it will be stressful, but I'm reminded that the mission is an important one.

Cycles of Behavior

My kittens and I have settled into a routine.

I come home from work, excited to see them. I try to play with them for a while, a pathetic attempt to which they react only half-heartedly before choosing each other as more suitable playmates and ignoring me completely. I then go drown my sorrows, lamenting that even two little animals who I feed and house don't really like me. A few minutes later, they're both asleep in my lap for the next hour or so. Then I think, aw, my kittens do like me.

They're especially sweet during my yoga practice, lining the edges of my mat, snoozing, sometimes winding between my legs during Downward Facing Dog or Eagle.

Still, though, having cats has been a huge emotional adjustment from my life of having dogs. Dogs always want to be around you. You'll tire of petting them before they will, I guarantee it. WIth cats, though, things are much more on their terms. They display affection spontaneously, and the move on. I'm trying not to let it hurt my feelings, especially since I've noticed that, even if not being overtly affectionate, they still like to be in the same room as me. If I'm reading in bed they'll hop up, if I'm watching TV they'll play in the living room, if I cook dinner (read: pour cereal) they'll watch, if I'm dressing or brushing my teeth they like to hang out by the closet door. It's sweet.

I am tired of not breathing

I have a condition. Often (as much as twice a day, as little as once a week) I cannot breathe. Air comes in, air goes out, but I still cannot breathe.

Try this.

Inhale, and hold it for a second. Now inhale again. And again. Don't exhale, just keep inhaling over and over again. This is what it feels like, except that I am perfectly capable of exhaling, it just doesnt' FEEL like an exhale. I breathe in and and breathe out physically, but I never FEEL the exhale. And then, finally, with great concentration and prayer and I don't know what, I can breathe and and FEEL it and then I am okay.

It's awful, and the most frustrating thing is the lack of pattern. It doesn't appear stress-induced. Just a second ago, I was sitting in my lovely sun-filled apartment in a comfy chair reading a book and sipping cold water while my kittens played on the floor. And then suddenly I couldn't breathe.

Last night Rob was massaging my yoga-ravaged muscles, and suddenly, I couldn't breathe. It happens while I'm walking to work, while I'm at work, while I'm at home, eating dinner, not eating dinner, trying to go to sleep, watching TV, reading, whenever.

I'm sure it's not physiological, since I'm perfectly capable of running 26.2 miles at a time, or going for a 20-mile bike ride, or doing 60 minutes of yoga without any respiratory problems. In fact, I rarely if ever have my breathing problem while exercising. I just can't seem to pin down the triggers.

It first started happening years ago, while I was staying with my mom, on a break from college I think. Remember? We went out in the middle of the night to a 24-hour drug store and picked up some Benedryl because we thought it might be an allergic reaction. The Benedryl put me right to sleep, thank God. Later that week I went in for allergy testing - negative for everything, knock on wood.

So what the hell is my problem?

Perception is Everything

First things first (and sorry to note update this): Elena is fine! On the second day of her limping, poor girl, I made an appointment with the vet for the next day. On the day of the appointment, came home from work to find a perfectly FINE Elena jumping around and putting normal weight on her paw. Joy! As a new mommy, I think I just overreacted. Kittens get into things. She could have sprained her ankle or pulled on a claw or something.

And now.

Oh. My. GAWD. I hadn't been to Rob's since picking up my kittens, and yesterday when I walked through the door and saw one of his cats, they looked HUGE. I could not stop exclaiming. His cat takes up the whole seat of a chair. My kittens take up about 1/6 of a chair each. After being around 2.5-month old's for the past week or so, I had totally forgotten how big adult cats are!

I can't really believe that my kittens will get to be as big as Rob's cats, but he says mine might actually get bigger.... oh my gawd.....

This is a picture of one of Rob's cats, Kyosaku. Compare with pictures of my kittens from a previous post, and you'll see what I mean.

The 80's Are Back!

Today while out for a looong bike ride, I saw something old school - a guy walking and CARRYING a boom box playing rap music. Oh yeaahhh.....

I love that DC is so saturated with bikers/hikers/runners. It makes biking quite nice because driver's tend to be considerate. On my ride today I ended up near National Airport and decided to take a little break. I found a spot on the lawn right at the end of the tarmac and the planes were flying right over me! It was way cool, and I managed to avoid actually being hit by a plane.

I think Rob and I are going to our favorite barbecue place for dinner tonight, then we'll stay in and watch a movie... a nice, quiet Saturday night, just the way I like it.

The Devil Wears a Mandolin

Congratulations to my lover - It's A Joy To Be Hidden's 666th visitor!

I Broke My Cat

This morning I noticed that Elena wasn't putting any weight on her front right paw. Everything else appeared normal - she was eating, using the litter box, even stretching out and using both paws to scratch at her cardboard thing - she just wasn't walking right. She let me touch it and nothing seemed abnormal, no bleeding that I could see, and she wasn't crying or anything.

This is making me so sad. She managed to jump up onto my bed, but couldn't get down and started crying until I came and placed her on the floor. Then she flopped down and leaned against my leg. She's been following me around faithfully all morning, but it's so sad because I know there's something she wants to tell me.

I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow. I cannot stand that my kitten is in pain.

Sightings!

I've seen three cross-dressers in the past few weeks. I wasn't quite ready for this morning's when, bleary eyed at 6am, I was approaching the entrance to the metro station and was passed on the sidewalk by a man making no overt attempt at femininity (wig, makeup, shaved legs, etc) save a pale pink off-the-shoulder sundress and pink sneakers.

Sumptuous Meal

Rob cooked for me last night, the most amazing meal. We had linguine with scallops and shrimp, under a sauce containing sauteed calmatta olives, fennel (yum), orange zest, garlic, tomato, and saffron. I didn't know my kitchen could produce anything other than cereal. I suppose the crucial ingredient was missing - Rob, the most creative and lovely chef ever. Move over Todd English.

Dessert was homemade (!) chocolate mousse, whipped to the perfect smooth, creamy-fluffy consistency. All with glasses of Merlot and two kitties (mine!) frolicking on the side.

Mellowed Out

These pictures were taken with my phone, so they're a bit blurry. <----This is Elena, thinking about taking a little snooze on my bed.








And this is Natasha, who found a little sunbeam---->

The girls are just as cute as can be, all clumsy, running into things and each other. Elena has these huge paws, way too big for her size, which makes her adorable and potentially a large cat! Things are quieting down now - they've figured out that they can get onto my bed if they jump up and then sort of climb the quilt the rest of the way. Too darling. I can't seem to get them in a picture together - maybe once they fall asleep.

Kittyblogging

Here is a picture of my new kitty, Natasha. Her sister, Elena, is a little too excited over all the new toys and scratching posts to be photographed, and even Natasha didn't want to sit still for very long, hence the sloppy shot.

They are so cute and clumsy! Both of them can barely make it up onto my little footstool, they can't make it onto the bed at all. They're lively and fun and so, so cute.

I'm a mommy!

More on Spring Lake

The outdoor shower is the best invention ever. It may even surpass the telephone. There's nothing so decadent as standing totally nude under a strong stream of warm water, staring at the sky and the sun, maybe being spied on by your lover. Pure luxury.

Home Again

Our time in Spring Lake was leisurely beyond comparison. A typical day: wake around 9am, breakfast and tea on the gorgeous, wide, wrap-around porch, read for a few hours on said porch, walk to the beach for some yoga, back to the porch for the afternoon, meet up for dinner, pass the evening over a bottle of wine and some tunes, bed around 11pm.

Rob and I were walking on the boardwalk Monday afternoon when an apocalyptic storm literally overtook us. A storm system is really something else when all you can see is ocean and beach and sky and mean-looking black clouds racing after you.

Adieu

Well, we're off. Going back to Spring Lake almost one year to the DAY since our last visit, which was only a week or so after our relationship truly began.

We just had our one-year anniversary, can you believe it?

I will finally meet my mom's fiance and put my interrogation skills to use. After that effort, I plan to do absolutely nothing but read, practice yoga, sleep, and eat.

See y'all on Wednesday!