I think it's a commentary on the amount of sarcasm used in our relationship that every time Jason told me he was thankful for me yesterday*, I kept waiting for the next clause in the sentence.
Such as:
"I'm thankful for you today...
...because you cook me food."
...because you wash my clothes."
...but not as thankful as I am for the cat."
But he seriously meant it every time. And I'm thankful for him too. No caveats.
*Which he did several times.**
** I know, so cheesy.***
***But I love it!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Second Wind
Now I'm planning a Christmas play for the ungrateful punks little darlings. Because I'm awesome.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Drama!
Yesterday was, how shall I put it, not so great in Primary. Actually, there were only about 15 minutes of bad, but it has stuck with me.
Now that I'm in the Primary presidency, I have to put together a Sharing Time one or two times a month to entertain and teach the kids for one of the hours of church*. I thought this would be no big deal, but the Church basically gives you three sentences about a very vague theme and some pictures and wants you to run with it. Since we have Junior Primary (where the ages range from 3-7) and Senior Primary (right now 10 and 11 year olds), that means I'm taking a pretty vague theme and trying to talk about it for a half hour or so in two completely different ways. The little kids are NO problem. I ask them simple questions and do little games with them and it's good.
However, the older kids are rough. These are the kids that were in Jason's and my class before. I have seen this deterioration in attitude with two of them as they get closer to turning 12 and leaving Primary. I know they feel way too old for Primary. I remember that feeling and I don't blame them. But they just sit there, staring at the floor, motionless and surly no matter how much we try to engage them. And they're dragging down the 10 year-old who used to be little mister volunteer and is really smart. I hate to see him taking on that attitude.
One of the 11 year-olds is extremely bright. He would probably be able to make some cogent points in Elders Quorum with the adult men. When he first showed up in our class he was eager to participate, always raised his hand, always had something to add. However, several months with the kids in our ward and he doesn't care and stares at the floor. I suppose it's cooler to not care.
The 11 year-olds who were there yesterday will be turning 12 in December and will be out of Primary. I think that's better for them because they're so over Primary, and I'm really hoping it improves the all-around mood in Senior Primary.
So yesterday I'm giving my little lesson and I'm asking them questions and trying to get them to participate. They gave me some perfunctory answers once they realized I did, in fact, expect them to speak. Then one of them raised his hand and I called on him. He said, "So don't be offended, but this is really boring."
I just stood there. Then I told him that was a very rude thing to say and turned the time over to the music leader.
I sat down in the back, but could feel the tears coming, so I hurried out of there and into the bathroom. Frankly, I felt like an idiot for getting so upset, but it hurt, especially considering that I had spent hours the day before trying to find things that they might be interested in talking about and looking through materials in every source I could think of.
The thing that just kills me is that the kid who said it is a complete little punk, but has always liked me, and has delighted me with these happy smiles when he gets an answer right, and who I have defended to the skies when other people have written him off. I feel like whatever ground we had gained with him has completely disappeared.
I knew he was right, of course. It is boring. A lot of what happens at church is boring and there are only so many ways to spice things up.
So I felt deflated, but then the Junior Primary came in and the adorable Sunbeams made me smile.
Several of the other ladies in Primary comforted me after church, and the music leader reminded me about the day when the Senior Primary refused to sing. Just refused. What are you supposed to do? She looked so despondent that day that I gave her a big hug afterwards.
One of the ladies talked with the kid and he "apologized" to me. Basically what he said was, I'm sorry I said it was boring, but I only said it because it was boring. Great.
I was telling Jason about it after church and one of our friends said that basically sounds like what having kids is like. Ungrateful punks.
*Hi, non-Mormons. We go to church for 3 hours. It can sometimes be excruciating.
Now that I'm in the Primary presidency, I have to put together a Sharing Time one or two times a month to entertain and teach the kids for one of the hours of church*. I thought this would be no big deal, but the Church basically gives you three sentences about a very vague theme and some pictures and wants you to run with it. Since we have Junior Primary (where the ages range from 3-7) and Senior Primary (right now 10 and 11 year olds), that means I'm taking a pretty vague theme and trying to talk about it for a half hour or so in two completely different ways. The little kids are NO problem. I ask them simple questions and do little games with them and it's good.
However, the older kids are rough. These are the kids that were in Jason's and my class before. I have seen this deterioration in attitude with two of them as they get closer to turning 12 and leaving Primary. I know they feel way too old for Primary. I remember that feeling and I don't blame them. But they just sit there, staring at the floor, motionless and surly no matter how much we try to engage them. And they're dragging down the 10 year-old who used to be little mister volunteer and is really smart. I hate to see him taking on that attitude.
One of the 11 year-olds is extremely bright. He would probably be able to make some cogent points in Elders Quorum with the adult men. When he first showed up in our class he was eager to participate, always raised his hand, always had something to add. However, several months with the kids in our ward and he doesn't care and stares at the floor. I suppose it's cooler to not care.
The 11 year-olds who were there yesterday will be turning 12 in December and will be out of Primary. I think that's better for them because they're so over Primary, and I'm really hoping it improves the all-around mood in Senior Primary.
So yesterday I'm giving my little lesson and I'm asking them questions and trying to get them to participate. They gave me some perfunctory answers once they realized I did, in fact, expect them to speak. Then one of them raised his hand and I called on him. He said, "So don't be offended, but this is really boring."
I just stood there. Then I told him that was a very rude thing to say and turned the time over to the music leader.
I sat down in the back, but could feel the tears coming, so I hurried out of there and into the bathroom. Frankly, I felt like an idiot for getting so upset, but it hurt, especially considering that I had spent hours the day before trying to find things that they might be interested in talking about and looking through materials in every source I could think of.
The thing that just kills me is that the kid who said it is a complete little punk, but has always liked me, and has delighted me with these happy smiles when he gets an answer right, and who I have defended to the skies when other people have written him off. I feel like whatever ground we had gained with him has completely disappeared.
I knew he was right, of course. It is boring. A lot of what happens at church is boring and there are only so many ways to spice things up.
So I felt deflated, but then the Junior Primary came in and the adorable Sunbeams made me smile.
Several of the other ladies in Primary comforted me after church, and the music leader reminded me about the day when the Senior Primary refused to sing. Just refused. What are you supposed to do? She looked so despondent that day that I gave her a big hug afterwards.
One of the ladies talked with the kid and he "apologized" to me. Basically what he said was, I'm sorry I said it was boring, but I only said it because it was boring. Great.
I was telling Jason about it after church and one of our friends said that basically sounds like what having kids is like. Ungrateful punks.
*Hi, non-Mormons. We go to church for 3 hours. It can sometimes be excruciating.
Free Dr. Pepper!!!
Apparently Dr. Pepper promised everyone in America a free Dr. Pepper if Guns N' Roses released their newest album in 2008. Now they're making good. Click here for your own coupon.
I hate GNR, but I love Dr. Pepper.
The offer is good until 6 PM Eastern tonight.
(I'm trying to get mine and the site is moving reeeeally slowly. Just FYI.)
I hate GNR, but I love Dr. Pepper.
The offer is good until 6 PM Eastern tonight.
(I'm trying to get mine and the site is moving reeeeally slowly. Just FYI.)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Again with the Crock Pot
Have I mentioned how the crockpot is my new best friend? Sorry, old best friends. You have been replaced.
Yesterday I made Applesauce Chicken from A Year of CrockPotting. It was outstanding! Jason wanted to finish the pot, but I made him take a breather so that I would have some leftovers for lunch today. I doubled the recipe and used my homemade applesauce. It may be a little sour for plain eating, but it was perfect on top of some chicken with spices.
Applesauce Chicken
--4 frozen chicken breast halves or thighs
--1 1/2 cups of applesauce
--1 small yellow onion, chopped finely
--1 T apple cider vinegar
--1/4 tsp cinnamon
--1/2 tsp black pepper
--2 cloves garlic, minced
--1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, although I highly recommend as they gave it a nice kick. I probably put in a whole teaspoon)
Put the frozen chicken pieces into your crockpot. Add the onion. In a bowl, mix the applesauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices together. Pour on top of the chicken.
Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, or on high for 3-4.
The recipe recommends serving over rice or quinoa, and while I served quinoa, I didn't serve it so much on top of the quinoa. However, the sauce was pretty watery and next time I'll probably just serve it on top of the quinoa. What I did do was make Quinoa Pudding. I halved the recipe and there was plenty for me and Jason, plus some leftovers, I used apple cider rather than juice, and I used craisins instead of raisins.
Quinoa Pudding
Yesterday I made Applesauce Chicken from A Year of CrockPotting. It was outstanding! Jason wanted to finish the pot, but I made him take a breather so that I would have some leftovers for lunch today. I doubled the recipe and used my homemade applesauce. It may be a little sour for plain eating, but it was perfect on top of some chicken with spices.
Applesauce Chicken
--4 frozen chicken breast halves or thighs
--1 1/2 cups of applesauce
--1 small yellow onion, chopped finely
--1 T apple cider vinegar
--1/4 tsp cinnamon
--1/2 tsp black pepper
--2 cloves garlic, minced
--1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, although I highly recommend as they gave it a nice kick. I probably put in a whole teaspoon)
Put the frozen chicken pieces into your crockpot. Add the onion. In a bowl, mix the applesauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices together. Pour on top of the chicken.
Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, or on high for 3-4.
The recipe recommends serving over rice or quinoa, and while I served quinoa, I didn't serve it so much on top of the quinoa. However, the sauce was pretty watery and next time I'll probably just serve it on top of the quinoa. What I did do was make Quinoa Pudding. I halved the recipe and there was plenty for me and Jason, plus some leftovers, I used apple cider rather than juice, and I used craisins instead of raisins.
Quinoa Pudding
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups apple juice
- 1 cup raisins
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste
- salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Place quinoa in a sieve and rinse thoroughly. Allow to drain, then place quinoa in a medium saucepan with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover pan with lid, lower heat, and allow to simmer until all water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.
- Mix in apple juice, raisins, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt. Cover pan and allow to simmer for 15 minutes longer. Stir in vanilla extract. Serve warm.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Loser
I just had to admit to a client that the secretary has left for the day and I don't know how to put her into my boss's voice mail.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday Night Dinner
Jason's mom came out for a conference at Yale this weekend, so we got to spend a few hours with her Thursday night and again this evening before she caught her plane back to Utah. I made Azorean Beef Stew in the crock pot. It was super tastey. The aroma coming off of it was pretty amazing after only an hour of simmering. The spices are an interesting combination of cumin, allspice, cinnamon, red pepper and bay leaves.
Note: it just barely fed all 5 of us. If it had been just Jason and me eating, we would have had leftovers, but the 5 of us licked the pot clean. If I was going to make it again for more than 2, I would double the recipe. As it was, I used an extra cup of beef broth, an extra cup of water and an additional potato to bulk it up a bit.
Another note: I put in the full 2 tablespoons of salt, and I would suggest cutting that in half.
I supplemented the stew with a loaf of Italian bread from Whole Foods. I really want to get a bread machine, however, first we have to come up with a place for Jason to put his radio that is currently sitting on the kitchen table, which would be a perfect permanent location for the crock pot and bread machine. However, Jason seems to think we need a radio in the kitchen, despite the fact that in the 2 years he's lived in this apartment, we've never used it. Plus, he never cooks. So who's in the kitchen more? Me. Who should have more claim to how space is used in the kitchen? Again, I would have to say me. I usually listen to music or podcasts on my iPod with my headphones so I know I don't need a radio in the kitchen. It's an ongoing struggle.
Anyway, the point is, I highly recommend the stew.
Note: it just barely fed all 5 of us. If it had been just Jason and me eating, we would have had leftovers, but the 5 of us licked the pot clean. If I was going to make it again for more than 2, I would double the recipe. As it was, I used an extra cup of beef broth, an extra cup of water and an additional potato to bulk it up a bit.
Another note: I put in the full 2 tablespoons of salt, and I would suggest cutting that in half.
I supplemented the stew with a loaf of Italian bread from Whole Foods. I really want to get a bread machine, however, first we have to come up with a place for Jason to put his radio that is currently sitting on the kitchen table, which would be a perfect permanent location for the crock pot and bread machine. However, Jason seems to think we need a radio in the kitchen, despite the fact that in the 2 years he's lived in this apartment, we've never used it. Plus, he never cooks. So who's in the kitchen more? Me. Who should have more claim to how space is used in the kitchen? Again, I would have to say me. I usually listen to music or podcasts on my iPod with my headphones so I know I don't need a radio in the kitchen. It's an ongoing struggle.
Anyway, the point is, I highly recommend the stew.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Cranberry Pork Deliciousness
SOME people might say that using onion soup mix in crock pot recipes is a cop-out. Maybe I thought that myself, but it is seriously a great all-around seasoning choice. Plus, it was on sale at the grocery store.
Yesterday I made:
Cranberry Pork Tenderloin
2 lb. tenderloin
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 C. water
1/2 C. apple cider
1 packet onion soup mix
Salt
Pepper
2 T. corn starch
2 T. water
Brown tenderloin on all sides in a skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper. Place tenderloin in crock pot.
Mix together cranberry sauce, water, cider and onion soup mix. Pour mixture over tenderloin. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Remove tenderloin from crock pot. Spoon about 2 or 3 cups of remaining sauce into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Mix together corn starch and water and pour into sauce, stirring. Continue simmering until sauce has thickened into a gravy. Serve gravy over sliced* tenderloin.
I served this with sweet potato fries and peas. It was a smashing success as dinners go.
Then this morning I made us blueberry pancakes from a recipe on All-Recipes. See, when I don't have to work like crazy, I can be little wifey extraordinaire.
On the other hand, we get bonuses based on our quarterly billable hours and based on the fact that I billed over 200 hours in the first 5 weeks of the quarter, and the work is really ramping up, I think I'll be getting a bonus.
* In reality it's super tender and sort of falls apart into not-so-neat slices. But it tastes so good that it doesn't really matter what it looks like.
Yesterday I made:
Cranberry Pork Tenderloin
2 lb. tenderloin
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/2 C. water
1/2 C. apple cider
1 packet onion soup mix
Salt
Pepper
2 T. corn starch
2 T. water
Brown tenderloin on all sides in a skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper. Place tenderloin in crock pot.
Mix together cranberry sauce, water, cider and onion soup mix. Pour mixture over tenderloin. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Remove tenderloin from crock pot. Spoon about 2 or 3 cups of remaining sauce into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Mix together corn starch and water and pour into sauce, stirring. Continue simmering until sauce has thickened into a gravy. Serve gravy over sliced* tenderloin.
I served this with sweet potato fries and peas. It was a smashing success as dinners go.
Then this morning I made us blueberry pancakes from a recipe on All-Recipes. See, when I don't have to work like crazy, I can be little wifey extraordinaire.
On the other hand, we get bonuses based on our quarterly billable hours and based on the fact that I billed over 200 hours in the first 5 weeks of the quarter, and the work is really ramping up, I think I'll be getting a bonus.
* In reality it's super tender and sort of falls apart into not-so-neat slices. But it tastes so good that it doesn't really matter what it looks like.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Happy Birthday to Us
I've been behind on my picture posting because it's been busy at work. Last night we were just waiting to get some documents back from a client and even though I had a couple of contracts to write, I was tired, so I took the 6 PM bus home and posted pictures on my blog.
My birthday was 10/10
This is my ice cream cake that Sarah made for me. I wanted a cookies and cream ice cream cake, but to be honest I really don't care much about the cake part and, I don't know if you know, but ice cream cakes are expensive! So Sarah got some Oreos, ice cream, Cool Whip and chocolate sauce and voila.
It was fantastic!
Just hangin' at my birthday party with Angie, Jessica and Naomi.
Jason's birthday was 11/11
I threw him an awesome birthday party. First a bunch of us went bowling. The lighting in the bowling alley was weird, so we wound up with a bunch of blurry pictures.
Here's Jason in action.
Here's me telling him how my score isn't that far behind his.
Here we verify with the big score screen.
Then it was back home for many rounds of Rock Band.
Getting ready to blow out the candles.
I got him a raspberry coconut cake from Gregg's, which has become our go-to dessert place. I know, raspberry coconut sounds weird, right? It was awesome.
I don't know if you can see Jason's shirt, but it has a yellow Easter Peep on it and says "Where my peeps at?" It's kind of my favorite shirt ever.
My birthday was 10/10
This is my ice cream cake that Sarah made for me. I wanted a cookies and cream ice cream cake, but to be honest I really don't care much about the cake part and, I don't know if you know, but ice cream cakes are expensive! So Sarah got some Oreos, ice cream, Cool Whip and chocolate sauce and voila.
It was fantastic!Just hangin' at my birthday party with Angie, Jessica and Naomi.
Jason's birthday was 11/11I threw him an awesome birthday party. First a bunch of us went bowling. The lighting in the bowling alley was weird, so we wound up with a bunch of blurry pictures.
Here's Jason in action.
Here's me telling him how my score isn't that far behind his.
Here we verify with the big score screen.
Then it was back home for many rounds of Rock Band.
Getting ready to blow out the candles.
I got him a raspberry coconut cake from Gregg's, which has become our go-to dessert place. I know, raspberry coconut sounds weird, right? It was awesome.
I don't know if you can see Jason's shirt, but it has a yellow Easter Peep on it and says "Where my peeps at?" It's kind of my favorite shirt ever.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Autumn
The lovely leaves have almost all fallen now. A couple of weeks ago I walked to work and snapped some pictures.
First, though, the Brown observatory next door had a Halloween party. Every Tuesday night the observatory opens to the public and you can go look through the old telescope. We're at the highest point in Providence and I'm sure when the observatory was built 100 years ago there was much less light around.
So we went over to the party where they had treats and pumpkin carving. Several of the employees dressed up and stood like mannequins in the corners, waiting for groups of kids to walk by, which is when they would jump out and scare the kids. It was hilarious. We also got to look through the telescope at Jupiter.
The next day all that remained of the party was this happy fellow hanging over the front door.
These bushes are in front of the park at the observatory. I meant to take pictures of them last year, but the leaves fell off pretty quickly after they turned bright red. I got pictures this year.
Looking up the hill from downtown. The white steeple sits on top of the oldest Baptist church in the country.
Rhode Island state courthouse.
I love the graduated colors on this tree.
About a mile from our apartment is this small park that looks over the state Capitol, which is a very impressive building for the smallest state. It's the 4th largest unsupported dome in the world. I took this on a foggy morning.
First, though, the Brown observatory next door had a Halloween party. Every Tuesday night the observatory opens to the public and you can go look through the old telescope. We're at the highest point in Providence and I'm sure when the observatory was built 100 years ago there was much less light around.
So we went over to the party where they had treats and pumpkin carving. Several of the employees dressed up and stood like mannequins in the corners, waiting for groups of kids to walk by, which is when they would jump out and scare the kids. It was hilarious. We also got to look through the telescope at Jupiter.
The next day all that remained of the party was this happy fellow hanging over the front door.
These bushes are in front of the park at the observatory. I meant to take pictures of them last year, but the leaves fell off pretty quickly after they turned bright red. I got pictures this year.
Looking up the hill from downtown. The white steeple sits on top of the oldest Baptist church in the country.
Rhode Island state courthouse.
I love the graduated colors on this tree.
About a mile from our apartment is this small park that looks over the state Capitol, which is a very impressive building for the smallest state. It's the 4th largest unsupported dome in the world. I took this on a foggy morning.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Crockpotters Unite!
This site has about 47 million crock pot recipes, and a lot of them sound really good. I might just start working my way through the list, making a couple recipes a week.
Happy Birthday Jason!
Everyone on Facebook go say happy birthday to my husband. He's the cat's meow*!
* I think the fact that I bought myself a cloche this weekend is affecting my vocabulary.
* I think the fact that I bought myself a cloche this weekend is affecting my vocabulary.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Cut my hair
I cannot even begin to express how much I love it and how unfrumpy I now feel because of my sassy 'do.
We went bowling for Jason's birthday. Behind me in lane 23 you can see the lovely split that my orange bowling ball just sailed through. Overall, I bowled pretty well (for me) and even beat Jason in a game. I didn't beat him overall, though, because that's a sign of the Apocalypse and the world did not end this weekend.
I cannot even begin to express how much I love it and how unfrumpy I now feel because of my sassy 'do.
We went bowling for Jason's birthday. Behind me in lane 23 you can see the lovely split that my orange bowling ball just sailed through. Overall, I bowled pretty well (for me) and even beat Jason in a game. I didn't beat him overall, though, because that's a sign of the Apocalypse and the world did not end this weekend.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Clothes
First of all, everyone is dissing Michelle Obama's election night dress, which I do not get at all.
When she walked out on stage, I thought, "That is so pretty and bright and original and not your normal stuffy and staid First Lady-to-be dress!" Michelle Obama is awesome for a lot of reasons, and I include her election night fashion choice in those reasons.
Second, I'm happy to say that I single-handedly instituted Casual Fridays in my workplace. There are only 3 of us so one Thursday afternoon a few months ago I asked my boss if we could do Casual Fridays. He said sure and I've been wearing jeans on Fridays ever since. The Boston office, however, has to be business casual to business professional all the time. To which I say, "Ha, ha!"
When she walked out on stage, I thought, "That is so pretty and bright and original and not your normal stuffy and staid First Lady-to-be dress!" Michelle Obama is awesome for a lot of reasons, and I include her election night fashion choice in those reasons.Second, I'm happy to say that I single-handedly instituted Casual Fridays in my workplace. There are only 3 of us so one Thursday afternoon a few months ago I asked my boss if we could do Casual Fridays. He said sure and I've been wearing jeans on Fridays ever since. The Boston office, however, has to be business casual to business professional all the time. To which I say, "Ha, ha!"
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Any Cat Whisperers Out There?
I don't know if you've heard, but we have a cat. His name is Tiny and he's the sweetest kitty with a lot of personality, but also kind of a pill sometimes.
I've been pretty good about reigning in some of his worst craziness, although he still eats any carbohydrate we happen to leave out on the counter while we're gone, and he can't be in the same room with us when we're eating sushi. Generally though he actually listens to me when I say things like "No" and "Get down". Sometimes he gives me lip in the form of a pitiful meow in protest, but he does what I say.
However, I can't figure out how to curb this one behavior of his that drives me up the wall. Specifically, as soon as there is any sort of movement from Jason and me in the morning indicating we might possibly be awake, Tiny starts meowing for us to feed him. This has gone through stages. He used to yell and yell, even going so far as to stand on our headboard and yell while looming over our heads. But that just got him thrown out of the bedroom.
I think he finally figured out that if he's sweet, he's treated more nicely. His latest thing has been to utter a few purry meows and then snuggle up right next to my face, purring as loud as possible in a "Look how cute and sweet I am. Don't you want to feed me?" kind of way.
However, he may have recently determined* that being sweet doesn't get him fed any faster because this morning he made several quiet meows, and then jumped on the bed and walked over the hill of Jason, into the valley, and then over the hill of Kelly in the quest of waking us up. This was all done quietly, but insistently. The second I got out of bed he started meowing hysterically. It's like he thinks if he doesn't yell, we will never feed him.
This happens when I come home from work too. Hysterical meowing. On weekends if I'm home during the day it starts about mid-afternoon because Tiny sees that it is getting dark and I'm home so it must be dinner time. I ignore him and have even gone so far as to locking him in the guest room so that I could get some peace for the couple of hours until dinner time. And since I'm the one who feeds him most of the time, I'm the one who gets pestered.
Jason doesn't mind it as much as I do, but the incessant meowing when I'm trying to get that last 10 or 15 minutes of precious sleep Drives. Me. Crazy.**
So what do I do? It's not like other behaviors where I can either say "No" or ignore the annoying thing he is doing rather than giving him his way. I can't starve the cat. So every morning and evening I'm reinforcing this bad behavior because all he knows is that he yells, he gets food.
Any ideas?
*And I fully acknowledge that I may be giving my cat a little too much credit here.
** However, we now have this little routine in the mornings. I get up and feed him and then go to the gym. When I get home from the gym, he follows me around until I pick him up, and then he purrs and purrs and lays his head on my shoulder. He really is a love.
I've been pretty good about reigning in some of his worst craziness, although he still eats any carbohydrate we happen to leave out on the counter while we're gone, and he can't be in the same room with us when we're eating sushi. Generally though he actually listens to me when I say things like "No" and "Get down". Sometimes he gives me lip in the form of a pitiful meow in protest, but he does what I say.
However, I can't figure out how to curb this one behavior of his that drives me up the wall. Specifically, as soon as there is any sort of movement from Jason and me in the morning indicating we might possibly be awake, Tiny starts meowing for us to feed him. This has gone through stages. He used to yell and yell, even going so far as to stand on our headboard and yell while looming over our heads. But that just got him thrown out of the bedroom.
I think he finally figured out that if he's sweet, he's treated more nicely. His latest thing has been to utter a few purry meows and then snuggle up right next to my face, purring as loud as possible in a "Look how cute and sweet I am. Don't you want to feed me?" kind of way.
However, he may have recently determined* that being sweet doesn't get him fed any faster because this morning he made several quiet meows, and then jumped on the bed and walked over the hill of Jason, into the valley, and then over the hill of Kelly in the quest of waking us up. This was all done quietly, but insistently. The second I got out of bed he started meowing hysterically. It's like he thinks if he doesn't yell, we will never feed him.
This happens when I come home from work too. Hysterical meowing. On weekends if I'm home during the day it starts about mid-afternoon because Tiny sees that it is getting dark and I'm home so it must be dinner time. I ignore him and have even gone so far as to locking him in the guest room so that I could get some peace for the couple of hours until dinner time. And since I'm the one who feeds him most of the time, I'm the one who gets pestered.
Jason doesn't mind it as much as I do, but the incessant meowing when I'm trying to get that last 10 or 15 minutes of precious sleep Drives. Me. Crazy.**
So what do I do? It's not like other behaviors where I can either say "No" or ignore the annoying thing he is doing rather than giving him his way. I can't starve the cat. So every morning and evening I'm reinforcing this bad behavior because all he knows is that he yells, he gets food.
Any ideas?
*And I fully acknowledge that I may be giving my cat a little too much credit here.
** However, we now have this little routine in the mornings. I get up and feed him and then go to the gym. When I get home from the gym, he follows me around until I pick him up, and then he purrs and purrs and lays his head on my shoulder. He really is a love.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
The more people I add to my Friends list on Facebook, the more freaked out I get. Seriously, I haven't talked to some of these people in 20 years.
I should not be old enough to say something like that.
I did just find out that a boy I had a crush on when I was 10 turned out to be a pretty cool man. A gold star to me for good taste.
I should not be old enough to say something like that.
I did just find out that a boy I had a crush on when I was 10 turned out to be a pretty cool man. A gold star to me for good taste.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Family Guy is Tacky
If you have never watched Family Guy, there is no way in good conscience that I can recommend it to you. It's crude.
HOWEVER, it has its moments. Brilliant pop culture reference moments. Like when the Hawkmen from Flash Gordon showed up to help Stewie take down the Luftwaffe when Stewie and Brian traveled back in time. I was the only one in my house who got that one.
Another classic moment was the complete reenactment of "Shipoopi" from The Music Man.
Family Guy - Shipoopi
Again, only one in my house who got it. Either Jason was very sheltered or we watched a LOT of movies when I was growing up.
The fact that the show is based in Quahoag (read: Providence), Rhode Island endears it to me in the weirdest way, especially since half the people I come across in a day sound just like Peter and Lois.
I think that one of the best moments I've ever seen on TV happened this past week when the family visited Ground Zero in New York and the following exchange took place:
Awesome.
HOWEVER, it has its moments. Brilliant pop culture reference moments. Like when the Hawkmen from Flash Gordon showed up to help Stewie take down the Luftwaffe when Stewie and Brian traveled back in time. I was the only one in my house who got that one.
Another classic moment was the complete reenactment of "Shipoopi" from The Music Man.
Family Guy - Shipoopi
Again, only one in my house who got it. Either Jason was very sheltered or we watched a LOT of movies when I was growing up.
The fact that the show is based in Quahoag (read: Providence), Rhode Island endears it to me in the weirdest way, especially since half the people I come across in a day sound just like Peter and Lois.
I think that one of the best moments I've ever seen on TV happened this past week when the family visited Ground Zero in New York and the following exchange took place:
Awesome.
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