Live the Moment: January 2012

Monday

January 30, 2012: Kia Goes to the Vet

Today Kia went back to the vet to get another blood draw to see if her blood glucose levels have improved. You can see the little bruise on her ear where they pricked her. The technician said she was a "sweetie" and didn't complain about the blood draw at all. I find this hard to believe after my experience forcing antibiotics down her throat for two weeks. She definitely was not a "sweetie" about that.

Anyway, it turns out that Kia's blood glucose levels have not improved. They are exactly the same. She also has somehow managed to lose another 4 ounces in the last two weeks. Now we just have to wait for the doctor to call tomorrow to let us know his interpretation of the results and the next steps we need to take. Poor little kitty :(

Sunday

January 29, 2012: I'm Sexy and I Know it

Yeah, I work out!

January 28, 2012: Sweet Red

We stopped by Sweet Red today, just to see their menu. The owners were there and offered us a sample of one of their beers. We decided to stay for a drink. They were so welcoming and friendly. We even got to sample their chocolate wine, which is amazing, by the way. Check out their menus here. We will definitely be returning.

January 27, 2012

We ordered Pizza Hut tonight. Kia decided that the box makes a really great heater and promptly curled up on top of it. Toasty warm.

We saw our friend Mandy today, and she gave us these adorable beer reindeer. They may be too cute to drink :)

Although I never knew that Rudolph was a Cyclops :P

January 26, 2012: ESOL Class

January 25, 2012: And Again

January 24, 2012: Lisa and Kia

January 23, 2012: The Game Room

We moved the pool table down to the basement this weekend. Now it's starting to look like a real game room. We just need a couch to complete the look.

January 22, 2012

The laundry soap really thickened up overnight. It's like gelatin. It needs to be stirred/shaken up before each use. It works really well though.

January 21, 2012: Homemade Laundry Detergent

We made our own laundry detergent this weekend. We started with the ingredients above: One third of a bar of Fels Naptha, a little of a handmade bar of soap, half cup of Borax and a half cup of washing soda. We followed this recipe.

First we chopped up the soap and melted it in some water.

Once the soap was melted, we added the Borax and washing soda. When they dissolved, we poured the mixture into a bucket and added more water. Then it has to sit overnight before being used.

January 20, 2012: Flood Day!

Today there was no school because of the flooding. Rob and I decided to go for a walk in the rain to check out all the water. This was the view from under my umbrella. Go Pack!!

We walked to Monteith Park in downtown Albany. Usually through these trees you will see a branch of the river and then Bryant Park. However, as you can see, Bryant Park is completely under water. That's really not too unusual for this time of year. It floods easily.

Monteith Park, on the other hand, does not usually flood. The photographer in this picture is crouched where the path ends in the water. Usually that path does not lead to the water. You can also see the ramp that leads to the outdoor stage is partly under water. There was even a group of ducks swimming up part of the ramp. Normally that ramp is nowhere near the water line.

The canal near our house also had high water.

Our house was fine.

January 19, 2012: And it's Still Raining.

January 18, 2012: Rain, Rain, Rain

January 17, 2012: Waiting for a Treat

Kia loves her treats, usually some butter or cheese. She doesn't really care if it's healthy or not. She's not a fan of regular cat treats, never has been, so we had to be creative. This is her treat corner. She always sits here when she thinks it's time for a treat. Of course her humans don't always agree.

January 16, 2012: Dreary Day

Just a typical Oregon day. It has been raining a lot.

January 15, 2012

It's snowing.....

.......so we decided to have some piña coladas.

You can see that Kia is feeling a little bit better, too. The blood test shows that she does have diabetes. We are trying some new food to see if we can get her glucose levels back in balance.

January 14, 2012

Listening to music on the computer :)

January 13, 2012

Watching tv.

January 12, 2012: Kia is Sick

Remember that beautiful red blanket from yesterday's post?? Well, this morning, Kia peed all over it. She could not stop herself. It was awful. We took the afternoon off work to take her to the vet. It turns out that our little kitty has a bladder infection. She has also lost over a pound in the last two months and may have diabetes. In this picture you can see her attempting to use her powers of camouflage to hide from the antibiotics I have to force down her throat twice a day :) Nice try Kia.

January 11, 2012

Cuteness :)

January 10, 2012

My plant at school had a growth spurt over winter break.

Monday

January 9, 2012: Knitting

January 8, 2012: Skype

I skyped with my sister and my mom tonight. None of us really want to pay for Skype premium to get the group video calls, so we tried to rig up two laptops. It was pretty hilarious :D It was difficult to angle the laptop screens just right so that they could see each other. I quite enjoyed sitting back and letting them chat away without me :) All three of our husbands made us martinis, and we drank a martini together while we talked. The battery on one laptop died mid-call, so we had to move to a different room and plug in the power cord. Overall a fun experience.

January 7, 2012: Kuan Yin

Kuan Yin now lives in our yard. Rob found her on Craigslist, and we picked her up today. The guy who was selling it said that he would have a "gaggle of strong guys" over who could help move the statue into our truck. She weighs over 200lbs although she is only about 4ft tall. The gaggle of strong guys turned out to be two older guys with grey beards :) Rob and I had a pretty easy time moving her out of the truck bed and onto a dolly to move her to the back yard. She makes our yard feel very peaceful.