Self Improvements

I am in the waning days of my 30's. It is inexplicable that I am not still 28 years old. Where the hell has the time gone?? I have decided that I want my 40's to be much better than my 30's. My first step toward that goal was to join a gym. What's that I hear? A huge gasp from anyone reading this who actually knows me? Yes, it is true. For the first time in 15 years, I am committing to some form of fitness.

I am taking it slowly. I usually do the treadmill for 35 minutes followed by another cardio machine. Most of them, I can't even figure out how to turn on, so my selections have been limited so far. Then, I try to do a few laps in the pool. Apparently, all these years I have been going into the pool to cool off during the summers have done nothing to improve either my breast stroke or my endurance. Walking around the little end for 5 minutes really wasn't so helpful.

And finally, for the first time ever, I walked into the studio with 4,000 mirrors and did a class!! It was Zumba or Zoomba. Not quite sure how to spell it since I was in the back row and could barely read what was on the 20 year old instructor's embroidered yoga top while I was jumping around like an idiot with the redest face in the world. She was throwing out all these crazy moves mostly to latin music. I was expecting Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris to come over and interview me post merengue. The most important part was that I made it through 1 whole hour of cardio. I loved it. It was much more fun than watching the tv on the treadmill. Stay Tuned, hopefully, I will keep going!

Be My Valentine (and Personal Chef)

With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I've been thinking about what to get The Doc. We never really exchange gifts, but last week, he decided to try a recipe for Pot Roast from The Barefoot Contessa. The recipe mentions using a Dutch Oven and he had no idea what it was. The roast was made in a regular pot and it turned out really well. But, had he made it in this Le Creuset French Oven, well I'm sure it would have been divine! How appropriate that it comes in red?

Super Sunday

Did you all watch the Superbowl last night? Even though our hometown team was not playing, I did. I love watching football. I thought last night's match up was a good one. The Colts and Saints were both on track for undefeated seasons this year. The Saints lost in battle, the Colts lied down. Karma can be a biotch sometimes, huh Peyton??? Needless to say, I was THRILLED with the outcome. I am very happy for the Saints and the city of New Orleans. Almost makes me wish I was headed down for Mardis Gras. That is going to be one sick party this year!

We hosted some family and friends. We had the usual suspects for appetizers: Buffalo Chicken Dip, Shrimp, Crudite. For dinner, The Doc made both tenderloin and lamb with herbed potatoes. My Mom made an incredible chopped salad. For the kiddies, dinosaur chicken nuggets, cheese stick and Gogurts. Saving the best for last was the dessert table. We had chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, Mississippi Mud Pie (my all time favorite!!) and frozen yogurt with fruit. The kids wiped out the Fro Yo before anyone with diet constraints could get near it!

I do feel bad for all those Colts fans today who feel like jumping off a bridge. Now they know how we felt 2 years ago when the Giants won. Spring training is only a few days away!!

Report to the Principal's Office

Those words strike fear in every student who hears them. Today, I am going to Madigan's school for my first ever teacher conference. She goes to the type of school that has a "hands off" policy. No reading to the class, no PTA, no parental involvement. Just pay your $$, and they take care of the rest. I like that about her school. I did not specialize in elementary education. I would have no business trying to help someone else's child learn how to read or print their letters. Anyhow, I felt like I should go and check in to see how first grade is going. Most of the parents have been going up for these types of meetings since Pre K. I did not see the necessity in that since she seemed to be coloring just fine. But now that they are actually spelling, reading, writing, etc, I want to make sure she is on the right track.

There are lots of competitive parents at Madigan's school. Sometimes, I think they are planning to apply their daughters to Harvard Business School in 3rd grade. I'm not like that and I worry that maybe Madigan will suffer for it. I'll find out today!

Coming Soon to a Kitchen Near Me!

Veterinary Hell

Veterinary Hell, that's where I have been for the last 5 weeks. We went away to Aruba for Thanksgiving. Nothing new there, we travel every 3 months. While we were away, My cat Tigger decided to just stop eating. No rhyme, no reason. Just stopped eating. I noticed 2 days after we came home that he just seemed quieter. His fur felt dryer and he was shedding more than usual. I brought him to the vet and he was diagnosed with Hepatic Lipidosis. Because he stopped eating, his liver starting to secrete fat cells. Essentially, Tigger is in liver failure. He turned 10 in October and has always been in perfect health. He is an indoor cat, so he cannot get into much trouble. For a week, we tried to manage him at home by force feeding baby food into his mouth. When that didn't kick start his appetite, he had a nasal feeding tube placed. That was total Hell. It was a tiny tube that I had to syringe feed through. He had to wear one of those lamp shades around his neck so that he wouldn't pull out the tube. Tigger threw 2 tubes up in 3 days. At that point, I had to hospitalize him. The emergency vets agreed with the diagnosis but felt he was not a textbook case since Hepatic Lipidosis usually affects overweight cats. Tigger is only 8.5 pounds. They did some additional testing to look for a primary diagnosis, something like a cancer but found nothing. They put an esophogeal feeding tube in and kept him for 6 days. I got to go in and visit him every night. It was torture because he was so nauseous and he was jaundiced so he was literally yellow. Each time I came though, he would climb up onto my shoulder and purr.

2 days before Christmas, we got to bring him home. He needed to be fed every 4 hours. He eats a high calorie cat food that is blended with water to resemble infant formula. It is injected slowly through the feeding tube. Feedings take about an hour because you don't want to go so fast that he will vomit everything back up. His initial dosage was to be 20cc every four hours. Day 2, 30cc's, then 40 cc's and so forth until we got to 60 cc's each feeding. That never happened.

The first day of feeding went great. Then he started vomiting every feeding up. We had to pull back on his dosages and just go slowly. He gets Zofran (all you pregnant ladies probably know what this is!!) twice daily to control the nausea. It has been a long, stressful process but we are finally seeing the light! He is down to 6.3 pounds but has been maintaining all his feedings. He is up to 45cc's now and he no longer looks jaundiced. His labs stabilized and he is meowing up a storm. He is slowly starting to eat by mouth although just a tiny bit each day. I think Tigger is on his way back and I couldn't be happier.

You don't even want to know what the vet bill is. Let's just say Hermes and I could have had a nice shopping visit! Tigger is now my new Berkin Bag!!!!

Holiday Tidings

On Sunday, Madigan and I were invited to an ornament swap at the home of one of her classmates. I knew we were in for a great time. This Mom really knows how to entertain! From the minute I saw the table, I was impressed!!!! Everything was all ready to go for a fun afternoon!

Each girl brought a fully wrapped ornament to be exchanged "Yankee Swap" style. I was terrified of how this would go in a room full of 6 and 7 year olds. Having things taken away from them (well, specifically from my spoiled child) was not going to be a pretty sight. Once the swap was underway, only 2 girls decided to change ornaments. There was no crying. A Christmas Miracle!

The girls also did lots of crafts. They made wreaths and candy canes out of pipe cleaners and beads, bookmarks from felt cut outs and paperclips, and the best of all was the snow globes!

I forgot to take a picture of the completed project, but they were adorable.! You would have thought that Martha Stewart herself was there to supervise!

I was very impressed with how well all the girls behaved. I think their favorite part was after most had gone home, and the select few played outside in the fresh snow until dark. There is nothing like being a kid and making snow angels, having snowball fights, and sledding to make your day perfect.

Madigan's favorite part of the party was meeting her new friend: