December 09, 2014

Spoiled kitties

I finished my puzzle last night! After I put the kids to bed, I was super determined to get it finished. I poured a glass of wine and got to work. One thousand pieces later, it's finally done:


I've learned that puzzles are fantastic at keeping me from snacking, but they are also fantastic at keeping me from getting other (more necessary) things done ;)  I'll probably do another one, but I'm going to take a break. I haven't taken this one apart, because I put so much work into it, but it can't sit on my coffee table forever. I'm tempted to put puzzle glue on it and mount it. It's a pretty picture!

Yesterday was a hard day for me not to overeat. I was feeling really snacky all afternoon. I'm glad I worked on the puzzle, because once I got busy on that, I stopped thinking about food. My food log from yesterday:


I hadn't made Cabbage Casserole in a long time, and I forgot how much I love it. I'll be making that a lot this winter, I'm sure.

I have no idea what the heck happened between yesterday and today, but I woke up and my foot was absolutely killing me. It's the tendonitis pain that I get when my shoes are too old--but my shoes have less than 200 miles on them, so it's not that. I don't *think* it's the fact that I switched to the Altras, because I've been wearing them for two months without any problems.

I'm wondering if my jump to 12 miles for a long run on Sunday was too much. I would never advise someone else to go from an 8 mile long run to a 12 mile long run in the matter of a week, but that's exactly what I did. So, it could just be from overuse. It didn't hurt during my run yesterday (I just ran 3 miles at an easy pace), but this morning it was really bad.

I was supposed to do hills today, but I took an unscheduled rest day instead, and I barely moved from the couch all day. I really want it to get better ASAP, because I have the Santa Hustle Half-Marathon on Sunday. I'll rest again tomorrow, and reevaluate on Thursday.


Jerry and I were doing some online shopping for Christmas last week, and we had the idea to get the cats a new cat tree. There were some really fun looking ones on Amazon, and after reading a ton of reviews, we finally bought one. It arrived today, and of course I wanted to put it together right away. It came in a large box, but I still had no idea how it was going to be as large as the specs said!


Estelle jumped into the box before I even got all the pieces out. She was so excited, and she didn't even know yet that it was for her. Every time I built a new layer, she made herself at home on it while I screwed it together.


When I was done putting it together, all three cats were pretty happy. (It seems kind of empty without Paolo, though--he would have loved that empty perch on the left!)


I had no idea if Chandler was going to be able to fit into one of the two boxes on it. He squeezed through the opening, and was SO content all day long (six hours and counting right now...). Anyway, the tree is huge, and kind of an eyesore, but what can I say? We're cat people ;)

(ETA: A couple of people have asked for a link to the tree that we bought. Here is the link it on Amazon. We got the 50"x26"x74" one. Armakat Cat Tree Condo)

35 comments:

  1. Cat tree? That's a cat mansion!

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    1. Yes, that would probably be a better word for it, haha. They are definitely spoiled!

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  2. We have two of those huge cat trees in our house. Our three cats love them. After 7 years, they are getting a bit worn, but still used constantly.

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    1. We have a smaller one that the cats LOVE, and it's still holding up well, but Chandler is definitely too big for it, haha. And with three cats, it's nice to have a big one!

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  3. Aw, I think you need a fourth cat to fill that empty spot. ;)

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    1. It's very tempting! The kids have been asking. But there is a lot to think about before we do that ;)

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  4. Lol. Are you sure Chandler's not stuck?!! Just kidding. He's determined to make that perch his. Kinda like covered parking. It looks like the primo spot.

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    1. Hahaha, I was worried he got stuck the first time he tried to squeeze through. But he made it, and he can actually turn around inside of it--with a lot of work!

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  5. If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want to come back as one of these cats. What a rough life! 😊

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    1. And yet Estelle has been sleeping on the electric blanket all day today, instead of her new mansion. She pretty much owns this house ;)

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  6. Love your scratching post! Unfortunately our cats have deconstructed everyone so far, now they have a really simple one with a rough mat - in the hopes they won't tear that oen apart as well. Getting a new one every year is getting expensive! ^^

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    1. My cats actually prefer those cardboard scratchers. I wish they'd use these rope ones more, because the cardboard ones get worn pretty quickly, but as long as it's not my carpet, I'm happy! ;)

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  7. That cat tree is FANTASTIC! If I had room I'd have a cat tree. I love kitties!!!!

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    1. It's so funny how the cats almost KNOW that it's for them. I don't even have to push them to use it!

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  8. Hope your foot is better soon! And you are probably right about jumping to 12 miles so quickly. Take care of those feet chicka!

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    1. The funny thing is, I was only scheduled for 10 miles that day! I didn't notice it until after I ran 12. Doh!

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  9. That is quite the cat tree. More like a cat condo. Would you mind providing the amazon link for it? I would love to get it for my 3 furbabies.

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    1. Sure! I just updated the post, so the link is now at the bottom of the post.

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  10. That is a SERIOUS cat tree! But look how happy your kitties are :)

    We all do funny things for our furry friends.

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    1. Yes, it's worth it when they get a lot of use out of it--and my cats are very happy with it!

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  11. That's a great cat tree. I picked up a new dog puzzle (you hide treats in compartments and the dog has to figure out how to get them out) for my Juno (Bulldog), as well as a toy rope with an elf on one end. She loves to play Tug of War and she is very strong. Beats me every time! I also got a couple catnip mice for Kitty Neymar. The problem with cat toys is that the dog likes to play with them, and she is pretty rough, they usually don't last long.

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    1. I had a puzzle feeder for my cats, and Chandler was too lazy to get his own treats out of it. Then I caught Estelle getting treats out for him! She'd take one out for herself and eat it, then take one out for Chandler. And so on, until they'd both had their fill! It's so funny to see their personalities.

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  12. We have the same cat tree for our 4 cats and they love it too!

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    1. It seems like a great tree, especially for the price. The ones at the pet store are twice that expensive, and not nearly as big, so I was a little worried about the quality--but I'm happy with it!

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  13. Can you post the link for this cat tree?

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    1. Sure! I just updated the post, and the link to the tree I got is at the bottom.

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  14. My husband and I put puzzles together from time to time. When we're finished, we put them in an inexpensive frame that we got at Target. (We've only done a handful... not sure what one would do with them if you did a bunch.)

    If you Google "the tetris diet" there are several articles that talk about Tetris as helping to curb cravings. Maybe doing puzzles has a similar effect? I know that when I am engrossed in a task, I will completely forget about food. That doesn't happen very often, but it's nice when it does. :)

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    1. Yes! It's funny how being completely absorbed in a particular task can make me totally forget about eating. Normally, I'm always thinking about food; but the time flew by when I was engrossed in the puzzle.

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  15. I was doing this fantastic puzzle, worked on it for like 2 weeks and then my cat ruined it! I think I'll get one of those roll up puzzle keepers before I work on another one. My cats would probably love a tree like that.

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    1. Yeah, I'll need to find a new spot to work on the puzzles if I do another. Having it on the coffee table was inconvenient (and hard on my neck!).

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  16. Hmm looks like you could fit at least two more cats on that tree... Christmas presents perhaps, one cat for each boy, just sayin :).

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    1. It's been very tempting! We miss Paolo, and we would all love to rescue another cat. But we need to think about it some more ;)

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  17. The cat tree looks awesome!

    How exactly does your Weight Watchers points work? I keep seeing negative numbers and I am kind of confused.

    Also, do you get credit from Amazon when people click through your link, or do they have to purchase something for you to get credit?

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    1. The WW points can be kind of confusing, unless you're familiar with the program. Basically, I get 26 PP per day, PLUS 49 "weekly" PP to be used anytime during the week, all at once or spread out; on top of the 26 + 49, I also get activity points (the number depends on how much activity I do). When you see a negative number on my log, it just means I used some of my weekly or activity points. I start out with my baseline of 26 at the top of my log, and then count down as I eat for the day. When I hit 0, it means I have to start using either weekly or activity PP. I hope that makes sense! Maybe I'll write a post about it, because you're not the first to ask!

      The credit from Amazon comes from when you click through an Amazon link on my blog, and then buy something. I don't get anything for just the clicks. I like using the affiliate links, because it's a nice way to earn a small commission when I really like and recommend something, but I don't have to be an advocate for any one brand. I can be 100% honest with my opinions, and I don't have to be "loyal" to any particular company.

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  18. Can you write more about the tendonitis on your foot? I have this too and it won't go away no matter what I do. I don't want to have to give up running :(

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