Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas from us to you! (This is an old picture from 2017, but I love it.)

I'm spending the day with my family--nothing special--just having a relaxing day at home! So I'm taking a break from writing a post today. 

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Friday Night Photos

This will be rather short, because I just don't have many photos to post that I haven't already.

A quick update on the cats: I took Phoebe to the vet yesterday and I was happy that they didn't want to keep her overnight. They said it's a textbook upper respiratory infection but they wanted to do a culture to find out exactly what virus it is so they know how to treat it. They said she was dehydrated so they gave her subcutaneous fluids (where they inject fluid--I'm assuming saline?--under her skin). They started her on an antibiotic, which I didn't really understand if it's viral, but I just want her to get better ASAP, so I went with it.

Naturally, after an expensive trip to the vet, they all seem to be doing better today (except Phoebe--she perked up quite a bit yesterday after the fluids, but she's back to sleeping constantly today.) I still have to feed Phoebe with a syringe because she won't eat on her own. Chick and Duck aren't showing symptoms at all anymore and Estelle is still a little congested and sneezy, but definitely better.

Anyway, here are the few photos I have this week... (warning: most of them are cat photos)

Yesterday when Jerry and I were watching a show, he noticed Duck staring him down with the creepiest look on his face. Jerry started laughing and Duck didn't even flinch. We both laughed and then we were calling his name, but he was like a statue. Finally, he blinked out of the trance, but the look on his face was hilarious. (Although I guess if you don't see Duck everyday, he just looks like an ordinary cat in this photo)

I didn't even notice that Chick was lying in this box! I went to pick the box up off of my bed and it was heavy--then I noticed Chick was in there!

Chick is pretty fascinated with TV. Jerry took this picture when he was watching The Walking Dead one night.

Duck knows he's not allowed on the island, but I walked in and found him in this box. I'm sure he saw it and just couldn't resist!

It's funny--right after I realized he'd swallowed the yarn and I knew he had to go to the vet (he was acting very lethargic and sick) he went under the Christmas tree. I tried to grab him quickly before he got under there because I didn't want to have to crawl under and try to drag him out and put him in his carrier when he wasn't feeling good. Then I thought, "Waaaait a SECOND!" and I opened his carrier and placed it next to the tree. Not even 30 seconds later, I'd caught a cat who sat in there patiently until it was time to go, haha. (You can't really see in the picture, but he's already inside of it.)

I LOVE this photo of Luke, Riley, Eli's girlfriend, Eli, and Noah! (I blurred her face because I haven't asked her yet about sharing a photo.) They all went to my parents' house to decorate Christmas cookies. It's hard to get Luke and Riley to smile for a photo, so this one is the best!

And poor Joey was looking really neglected when he was in desperate need of being brushed. We've been so focused on the cats that Joey hasn't gotten the attention he craves. Anyway, Jerry brushed him really well and he looks like a new dog ;)  You can see on his face that he LOVES being brushed! (And also that he's getting gray hairs! Doesn't it seem like just yesterday that we adopted him? It'll be seven years ago in February!)

This meme just made me laugh because it is 100% me. Sometimes I wonder if I'll have permanent markings on my back from my heating pad. I swear I get colder and colder each year I get older. 

This was on Estelle's sickest day--I felt so bad for her because she was really congested and I could hear her breathing (it was louder than Jerry's). She'd been sleeping next to the heat register on the floor, but when I went back in the room, she was curled up next to him. 

This was one rough night when I was up late with the cats. I had just fed Phoebe (who is sleeping on the far left). And then Chick and Estelle were BOTH lying on my lap. Estelle likes my shins and Chick likes my thighs. If Duck was in there, he'd want to be on my chest. It'd be interesting to see if all three would lie there at the same time! (The 2x4 on the wall is from where I had our headboard hanging. I moved our bedroom around and I still have to move the headboard.)

Haha! I was cutting Jerry's hair and I started with the top (I just use clippers, starting with a #8 and then doing the sides with a #2). But after I did the top, he looked so funny that I had to stop and take a picture.

Poor Duck. He was sitting on the counter today and you could see where the vet had shaved him for his surgery--on his belly and then for the IV in his arm. (Okay, this is a debate between Jerry and me... do you think cats have arms and legs? Or just legs? I say arms and legs, but Jerry thinks that's ridiculous. He's probably right, but it sounds weird saying that Duck had an IV in his leg.)

Finally, here's Chick in a box. We were wrapping presents and Chick sat in that box the ENTIRE time just watching us. When we were done, he laid down in it and went to sleep. It's so funny how cats are drawn to boxes like bees to honey!

Okay, we're going to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation now as a fam. Have a fantastic Christmas! xo

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Top 10 Favorite TV Shows We've Watched as a Couple

I almost didn't write a post today because I just don't have anything to write about right now--taking care of the cats (first Duck and now all of them) has been my life for nearly three weeks! But Jerry and I were going to sit down and watch a show together and I had the idea to make a post of our Top 10 Favorite Shows We Watched Together.

It was interesting how easy it was to come up with this list together. It practically wrote itself. We each have favorite shows as individuals that differ from each other's list, but this list is just the shows we've agreed are our favorites we watched together.

(There are NO SPOILERS for the shows on this list). And these are in no particular order at all...

'Friends'

This one is a given for sure. Considering our pets are named Joey, Phoebe, Estelle, Duck, and Chick, it's pretty obvious we're into Friends. We can quote pretty much every line and we play it as "background TV" when we're cleaning. This show will never get old for us!

'24'

This is one of the first TV shows that we binge-watched together. I remember when we had a "staycation" several years ago, and our kids went to Florida with my sister and parents, Jerry and I watched '24' almost non-stop. The cool thing about '24' is that an entire season is made up of 24 one-hour episodes and each episode takes place in one hour of "real time". So all of the events from an entire season take place in 24 hours' time on the show.

'Shameless'

This is probably *my* most favorite show of all time (or at least in the last decade). We started watching it from the day the first episode was aired and it was SO hard to wait until the next week. "Shameless" is the PERFECT name for this show. If you've seen it, then you know why. And William H. Macy is the perfect actor to play Frank. The show just wouldn't be the same without him!

'The Shield'

I would say that this one probably tops our list as far as our very favorite (if we take 'Friends' out of the running). We watched this every Tuesday at 10:00 PM (I remember it well, because a new episode was airing while I was in active/pushing labor with Noah, who was born at 10:46 PM on a Tuesday night). I still get goosebumps when I think of the series finale of this show; it was the most memorable finale I've ever seen.

'House'

Good ol' Dr. House! This is a medical drama, but we loved Dr. House's character (that Hugh Laurie played *perfectly*)--his sarcastic, unapologetic, selfish, blunt, tell-it-like-it-is, take-it-or-leave-it attitude. I totally wish Dr. House was a real doctor!

'This Is Us'

This one is pretty recent, so a lot of you may have been into as well. The first episode was very confusing at first with the back-and-forth timeline, but at the end of that episode, when you finally GET IT, you have that, "Ohhhhhhhh, that's awesome!" feeling. And the first few seasons (if I remember correctly) you want to find out something very specific (I won't write any spoilers); so waiting for the next show was hard!

'Dexter'

I kind of like vigilantes, and Dexter was extremely likable as a vigilante murderer. I think what drew us to the show was the light-hearted vibe of such a serious subject. We haven't watched the new episodes yet only because we want to binge-watch them once the whole season has aired. Being able to stream shows on demand has totally spoiled us in that we don't like waiting in between episodes.

'The Walking Dead'

I hesitated to put this on the list because we really loved it up until about Season 8(?). I usually HATE watching anything that is supernatural/can't-really-happen and because this is about zombies, I really didn't expect to like it. However, Jerry and I were totally hooked on it. We really liked the survival aspect of it, so when it got to the point that it was a bunch of people fighting over turf, we stopped watching.

'Desperate Housewives'

Yes, Jerry watched this with me. He was the one who actually said I need to include it on the list! This was a fun, light-hearted show with an underlying mystery that you really want to find out from the very first episode. We always looked forward to watching it!

'Prison Break'

This show was impossible to stop watching once we started! We watched this with the kids and they were super into it, too. They would ask me if we could watch an episode without Jerry if he was working, haha (we never did!). I loved how clever the whole first episode was and it had us hooked immediately.

And there you have it! These are shows we've considered favorites TOGETHER; there are shows he loves but I don't (like Game of Thrones) and shows that I like and he wasn't into (like Breaking Bad). This whole post shows that we watch entirely too much TV, hahaha!

Feel free to share your favorites :)

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Just Wednesday

I held Chick to wipe his eyes and nose and then he just sprawled out like this. So we got cozy for a little while ;) 

I totally forgot that today was Wednesday Weigh-In. When I got up this morning, I probably couldn't even tell you what month it is--I feel like a zombie!

I went to bed on the early side but couldn't sleep at all because of the cats. Each time I heard one of them walking around, I wanted to see what they were doing (they usually sleep all night). I have to make sure they are eating so whenever I heard them awake, I tried to get them to eat. (Cats can't go very long without food; their livers can start to fail in just a couple of days.)

Then at 3:30, Estelle's noisy breathing woke me up. She was very congested so I decided it was time to get up for the day. I took the hottest shower I could stand to steam up the bathroom while Estelle was in there with me (the bathroom, not the shower). I was really surprised at just how well that worked for her. After the steam treatment, she ate a whole plate of food. I immediately went on Amazon and bought a humidifier with same-day delivery (let's hope it actually arrives today). I'm going to crank the humidifier up and see if that helps.

I called the vet today to see if I could get Phoebe in. She's really not doing well. I've been having to hand-feed her with a syringe (cat formula and pureed salmon--blech!) but I'm sure she's still not getting enough. She just doesn't want to eat or drink anything.

So, she has an appointment tomorrow. I'm guessing they'll want to keep her overnight--a feeding tube and an IV for fluids--which really sucks. Remember when I brought Duck in on a Friday for his emergency surgery? I wasn't able to pick him up until Monday because they were closed on Sunday. So, because of the holidays, I am not sure how long she'd have to stay.

I feel terrible taking her in because I know she's going to hate me for it, but she really needs to be seen. And she pretty much hates me right now anyways--when she sees me bring food and a syringe over to her, she visibly cringes away from me. I am constantly worried about her.

The good news is that Jerry is off for a whole week! And since he's on a night shift schedule, he'll still be staying up at night and sleeping until early afternoon. So, he can take care of the cats during the night and maybe I'll be able to sleep. It feels like we have newborn infants again.

Anyway, even though I didn't do an "official" Wednesday Weigh-In, I know that I haven't lost anything. I've really learned quite a bit about my eating habits over the past few weeks--I definitely don't deal with stress well and when I'm super stressed like this, I simply don't care about my food choices. I clearly need to work on stress management, but now isn't the time to even think about that.

I also started taking my anti-anxiety med twice daily (I usually just take them as needed, but I saw my psychiatrist last week--in person for the first time since the pandemic!--and we switched it up for now. It either makes me retain some serious water or I just plain gain weight when taking it daily. Or maybe both, I don't know. Either way, I'm hoping that the cats get better fast and I can go back to the norm.

I really need to start making myself a priority again--eating better and running, specifically. Everything was going so great until about a month ago. I really don't want to lose the progress I've made. You know how when you're worried about something, it's the only thing you can think about? Well, that's how I've been ever since Duck swallowed that yarn. I've been constantly worried--first him and now all of the cats. This all started from a stupid piece of yarn!

I promise I will stop complaining about the cats soon. It's just my life right now! I've never had a cat with an upper respiratory infection before and it's nerve wracking (especially considering all four of them have it). I think I'll feel better after talking to the vet tomorrow.

I can't believe it's nearly the end of December already. Remember how everyone complained about 2020 being the worst year ever and being so excited for 2021? Well, now 2021 is almost over!! It's so crazy how fast this year has gone by.

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To Lighten Things Up!

I didn't get any transformations in my email for Transformation Tuesday (bummer!) and I REALLY need a stress reliever. Looking at my shirt right now, I have about 15 different stains on it and I couldn't tell you which are tuna juice, puréed salmon, kitten formula, or the coffee I threw in my own face when I mistook it for the tumbler of ice I'd been chewing. 

(Also, I've done that last one more times than I can count on one hand.)

(Also, I should mention that if you're not caught up, I was not eating those things; my cats are all sick and I've been doing everything I can to get them to eat. Well, Chick and Duck are eating just fine--their symptoms are mild. Phoebe and Estelle are old and it's harder.) 

There is nothing like a good laugh to make you forget about life--or four sick cats--for a moment. Memes are my very favorite cure for a bad mood (even though my kids tell me that memes are for old people). 

I know I post some memes here and there, but I tried to pick some today that I don't remember sharing before. So, here are some things that made me laugh, and hopefully they will give you a chuckle too!

My friend John made this meme about him and his husband, Ric, but I thought it was hilarious and totally applied to my kids. So I asked him to change the wording for me:

On Friday, when I didn't have any pictures on my camera roll to share, I asked Jerry if I could look through the pics on his phone and maybe do a Friday Night Photos from JERRY post. (It would have been very boring--he doesn't take many pictures, as it turns out!) But I did find some memes he saved and they made me laugh:

The dad jokes one made me laugh and then made me feel bad that he actually saved it--I'll try to laugh at his dad jokes more often ;)

Well, something smells bad and it's most likely ME, so I'm going to take a shower and put on some clean pajamas. It's been another long day!

(Several people suggested that perhaps the cats have COVID; that maybe Duck got it while at the vet. I am almost positive they tested him for it and it was negative, but come to think of it, they did that blood work the first moment I brought him in--before his surgery. So it's definitely possible. Right now, I'm just trying to keep them all comfortable and make sure they eat/drink, and I'm hoping this will pass soon.)

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Happy Scale App Giveaway Winners

I just can't seem to catch a break! Just when Duck was seemingly back to his old self, the other cats, one by one, caught whatever it is that he was battling (likely a virus that caused an upper respiratory infection). Now I have FOUR sick cats! They don't need to be hospitalized, and let's hope it stays that way, but it just means that I have to do a ton of work keeping them comfortable here.

I don't want to write about it today--it's been super stressful and I thought this was over!--so I'm going to just announce the winners of the giveaway for the Happy Scale app premium version.

With everything that's been going on, I completely forgot to do this! I used Random.org to select five winners:

Ingrid
Katie
Maureen
Jodi
Deb

(I don't want to post last names for privacy reasons, but I've sent each of you an email--so please get back to me via email and I'll give you the instructions to claim the app :)

If you missed the post about it, here is a review of one of my favorite apps (what I use for tracking my weight): Happy Scale.

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HERITAGE RECIPE : Grandma's Jumbles

Well, the third time was a charm! (Third recipe, in this instance.) After two failed recipes yesterday, this one was a winner.

The name "Grandma's Jumbles" is what caught my eye while I was flipping through the heritage cookbook. I've never heard of jumbles before, but the recipe made it pretty obvious that they were cookies. I happened to have the ingredients on hand, so I baked these last night.

The most fun part about this recipe, though, was learning about the person who'd submitted it. This recipe was submitted by Betty McWebb to the Rockwood, Michigan Area Historical Society. The name didn't mean anything to me until I learned that Betty was also known as "Aunt Bett" as well as "Elizabeth Upham" (her maiden name). Are any of you familiar with the old children's book Little Brown Bear? It was published in 1942 and was written by none other than Elizabeth Upham. How awesome is that?!

Elizabeth Upham was born in 1904 on a farm in Flat Rock, Michigan (which neighbors Rockwood). Her father was a storyteller and her mother a poet; so it's not a surprise that Elizabeth was a creative writer and storyteller as well. (She signed her poetry "Betty" from early on, so I will refer to her as Betty from here on out.)

In the 1920's during Prohibition, Betty wrote this limerick which I think is hilarious:

Once Mable found dear hubby Jack,
Rejoicing that whiskey was slack,
But when mending by chance,
She found in his pants,
Five tickets to Windsor and Back!

(The Downriver area is only about 20 minutes from the Windsor, Ontario border. This made me laugh because the legal drinking age in Canada is 19 and when I was in college, it was a common thing to cross the border to go to bars. I remember doing that several times.)

Betty became a teacher in 1937 and married her husband "Mac" in 1940. She was a talented poet and storyteller, sharing her stories with all who would listen (and people loved them!). She sold her poems in the 1930's, and then in 1942, her first children's book 'Little Brown Bear' was published. The book is a series of ten short stories about life lessons for kids told through the eyes of a "little brown bear".

Betty was affectionately referred to as "Aunt Bett" by all who knew her and listened to her stories. In the 1950's, a group of children would gather at her house to hear her stories; she also told stories at the libraries and at the County Fair. She also taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School.

She clearly loved children. Sadly, she and her husband lost their only child, a baby girl named Mary Ann, shortly after she was born in 1941.

Something I searched for and just couldn't find was the significance of was "Grandma"--as in, "Grandma's Jumbles". I don't know if she was referring to her own grandmother or if it was in reference to one of her stories. I read that in a past exhibit at a museum in Monroe, there were two life-sized papier mâché dolls that she'd made when she was young--one she referred to as "Grandma" and the other was of a favorite teacher. Odd! And I wish the exhibit was still there, because I would definitely go look at it.

Aunt Bett passed away at age 99. She was clearly well-loved by everyone in the community; it was fun to read about her!

Now, on to the cookies...

Grandma's Jumbles were a hit with Jerry and me. Noah and Eli thought they were just okay, because of the texture--it's more cake-like than your typical cookie (which I imagine is because of the condensed milk; that's the only ingredient that I don't usually see in cookies). I usually like chewy cookies as well--the chewier the better--but these were good! The texture actually reminded me of a light, fluffy quick bread. (This picture is a little blurry, but you can kind of see the texture.)

They definitely take on the taste of the nuts you use (I used pecans) so make sure you use a nut you love. She also stated you could use dates or raisins instead, but in the directions, she specified nuts; so that's why I chose to use those. And pecans are my favorite nuts in baking. These would probably be good with almonds, too!

As always, I made the recipe exactly as-written; I didn't substitute or modify anything. If something was unclear, I just made my best guess; make sure you read my notes after the recipe for any clarifications. The "printer-friendly" version is rewritten by me with the clarifications included.

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Grandma's Jumbles

1/2 c. soft shortening
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 c. evaporated milk (undiluted)
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3/4 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped nuts, dates, or seedless raisins

Cream shortening thoroughly until fluffy. Blend in sugars and eggs and beat until smooth; stir in milk and vanilla. Sift flour, soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture and beat until blended. Add nuts and chill for one hour. Drop rounded tablespoons two inches apart on greased baking sheet and bake at 375 F for about 10 minutes. Burnt Butter Glaze: Heat 2 tablespoons butter until golden brown on low heat. Remove from heat and beat in 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar and 1/4 cup evaporated milk.

My Notes:

All of the ingredients were self-explanatory. Note that it's one CUP of evaporated milk and not one CAN. I almost poured the entire can in, and I'm glad I double-checked before doing that. (You'll use 1/4 cup of what's left later for the glaze).

I chose to use nuts--pecans--rather than dates or raisins because from the directions, it sounded like she used nuts. ("Add nuts and chill...")

The dough was definitely more like a batter when I was done and I wondered if I didn't add enough flour or something. There was no way to make drop cookies from it! After refrigerating for about 90 minutes, I pulled it out and it was thicker. It still was thinner than most cookie dough I've seen, but I was able to scoop and drop it onto cookie sheets.

I took them out after 10 minutes and they looked perfect--just barely baked through (I like cookies on the slightly-underbaked side).

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to drizzle the glaze all over or put a dollop on each cookie or what, so I just scooped a little spoonful and spread it right in the middle of the cookie--it ran down the sides a bit. I don't think it looked very attractive, but it definitely tasted good!

One thing I forgot to do was sift the powdered sugar before adding it to the butter. I'm bummed I did that, because it left some tiny clumps of powdered sugar in the glaze. It tasted fine, but it would have looked better if I'd sifted it first. You can see what I'm talking about below:

Overall, this recipe was a winner! I would definitely make these again. If you really don't like cookies with a cake-like texture, you probably won't enjoy them; but I always taste these recipes with an open mind and I really liked them. Jerry did, too!

And I'm SO glad I learned about Aunt Bett. (I'm sure if any of my local friends read this, they are going to be like, "Are you SERIOUS? You never knew about her?! There is a huge 9-ft. statue of a bear in front of the library that is dedicated to her." I just don't know how I missed this! ;) But I do remember the Little Brown Bear book.

This post is only a very tiny glimpse of who Aunt Bett was and all she meant to the community. I got this info from The Monroe News, The Toledo Blade, and Monroe Memories & More.

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Double Heritage Recipe Fail

Today, I thought I was really going to get ahead of the game. To take a short break from blogging up until Christmas, I decided I'd prepare a week's worth of heritage dessert recipes to post--one per day. But I'd make the desserts and write the posts ahead of time and then I could just close my computer for a week.

Yesterday, I looked through the heritage cookbook and picked out some recipes, then bought the ingredients that I didn't have on hand. And this morning, I started by making two desserts. They both needed heavy whipping cream (whipped), so I figured I'd do both of those back-to-back.

Something I don't typically do until AFTER I've prepared the recipe in the heritage books is find out whatever I can about the person who submitted it. I should do it the other way around, because sometimes I can't find out anything about the person, which isn't as fun. (My favorite part about this recipe series is learning about the people behind the recipes.)

Anyway, I made both of the recipes--one of them involved more physical work than I've ever done for a recipe!--and put them in the freezer as stated in the recipe.

After waiting several hours for them to chill, I took out the first one taste it and then write today's blog post about it: Frozen Cranberry Loaf. Sounds interesting, right? I thought so, too! That's why I chose it. That and I love cranberries.

When I tasted it, however, I was completely underwhelmed. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't something I'd encourage other people to try, either.

Frozen Cranberry Loaf: jellied cranberry sauce, lemon juice, sweetened whipped cream and nuts--frozen in a loaf-form. (I watched a Good Eats episode one time about "Ice Box Cake" and I really wanted to try making one. There are several in the heritage cookbook, and I think this would be considered an ice box cake.)

I hoped there was a good story behind the person who submitted it, so that I would have something to write about. Well, I had no luck there! With the last name of "Smith" and the first name being a gender-neutral nickname, well... I had nothing.

I decided to taste the other dessert and hoped it would be more promising. This was the one that would give me carpal tunnel syndrome if I didn't already have it! Haha. It was Apricot Mousse: gelatin, milk, apricot juice, bananas, canned apricots, sweetened whipped cream. (The recipe didn't specify what to freeze/serve it in, so I just went with another loaf pan.)

Unfortunately, the Apricot Mousse just wasn't very good. It was kind of meh, like the Cranberry Loaf. Not bad, but not good. (And it actually tasted much more like bananas than it did apricots.)

The part that nearly killed me was the instruction to "force" the canned apricots through a mesh strainer (it was about as easy as giving birth to a nearly-10-pound baby). I also had to mash and strain the bananas the same way. (If this had turned out to be a tasty dessert, I would have suggested just buying jarred baby food--apricots and bananas--because that's essentially what I produced with the strainer and whatever is left of my forearm.)

Needless to say, the recipe was not something I wanted to write about. I looked at the person who submitted it--and it was the same person as the Frozen Cranberry Loaf!

I was at a loss at that point. Not only did two of the recipes turn out to be totally disappointing, I also didn't have a recipe prepared for today.

I went back to the cookbook and flipped through it to find another. The name of the recipe caught my eye and I'd never heard of the person who submitted it. When I googled her, I found a better story than I could have even dreamed up!

I immediately went to the kitchen to make the recipe. It has to chill for an hour before I can do the next step, so I decided to post this as a little teaser for tomorrow--where I will share the recipe and the exciting person behind it :)

Whether the dessert turns out to taste good or not won't even matter. I just didn't want to rush the post tonight, because I really love the story behind the person and I want to make sure to get the details in there. So, check out tomorrow's post for the heritage recipe!

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So Spoiled!

Once again, I have pretty much nothing on my camera roll this week! So I'm going to skip Friday Night Photos--which is a bummer because I really enjoy writing my Friday posts. It's almost like a journal with a little bit of everything throughout the week. But hopefully I'll have more to write next week.

Duck is still doing good! Today, he seemed about 85% back to his normal self, so he's making good progress. The vet called me today with the results of his FUO (fever of unknown origin) blood work, and it came back negative for everything! I asked exactly what it was looking for, and this is what the vet sent me:

They've given Duck a broad spectrum of antibiotics to cover their bases as far as a bacterial infection after his surgery. The vet said there is another test we can do (where they swab his mouth) to look for a couple of different viruses (I think...?). That test is $170, which actually doesn't seem bad when you look at the entire vet bill from the past two weeks, but I asked if he thinks we'd be okay if we wait and see what happens over the next few days.

Since Duck seems to be getting better (no more fevers!) I'm hoping that this virus or whatever he has will run its course and be done soon. The only real symptom he has now is sneezing/congestion and that seems to be doing better today as well.

Anyway, I thought this was a funny story so I figured I could share this instead of photos today...

Duck has gotten super spoiled by eating nothing but canned food (the cats all LOVE canned food, but I've always used it for a treat--probably once a week). With Duck being sick, the vet stressed how important it is for him to eat, so I knew our best bet was to give him canned food. I think he'd be totally fine eating his dry food again now (after his surgery, he needed the soft food) but I've continued to give him the canned food because I am just happy he's home and he deserves to be a little spoiled!

Today, he revealed just how spoiled he's gotten, though. I grabbed a can of food from the pantry and brought it to my bathroom (where I've been feeding Duck, since I've been keeping him confined to my bedroom and bathroom). He was meowing like crazy, knowing that I had a can of food for him. I opened it up and scooped it out onto a plate, then set it on the floor in front of him.

He looked ready to dive right into it like he always does, but then he paused. He sniffed it, gave it a tentative lick, then sat down and looked up at me, letting out a single, "Meow?"

He didn't want that flavor! It was some sort of fish flavor. Duck will eat ANYTHING (he literally just had surgery for eating yarn) but he turned up his nose at the fish-flavored canned food. I thought it was hilarious (although it revealed just how difficult it's going to be to switch him back to dry food soon). I brought the food into the kitchen and gave each of the other cats a scoop of it (which they happily ate). Then I grabbed a turkey and cheese flavored can to give to Duck; as soon as I placed it in front of him, he dove in and ate it all!

It reminded me of one of our squirrels that we feed. The squirrels LOVE walnuts and that's what I  mostly hand out. I usually keep some hazelnuts and almonds on hand, too, but the walnuts are definitely the favorite among the squirrels.

We have one squirrel, though, who doesn't like walnuts and she'll hold out until I get her a hazelnut instead. It's so funny! The other squirrels all come up and grab whatever I have and happily move along; but she sniffs the walnut, then sits and looks at me expectantly. And because I am very well-trained by cats and squirrels, apparently, I got get her a hazelnut and she readily runs off with it.

I don't know why I find all this so funny, because animals are bound to have different tastes (just like we do). Duck is probably the smartest cat I've ever had, but he never fails to find ways to make me feel like *I'm* the one who is being trained!

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Six-Month DietBet : Weigh-In vs. Weigh-Out Pictures

Things are going well with Duck being home! I definitely bother him too often while he's napping to see if he feels hot, but so far, he's been about 70% back to his usual self. I still don't have the results from his FUO (fever of unknown origin) test--hopefully before the weekend!--but for now, I'm just trying to keep his fever down. I have to give him an anti-inflammatory and antibiotic once a day, and check his temp three times a day. (Also make sure that he's eating and drinking.) I'm so happy to have him home--I missed every little quirk about him!

Six months ago, just a couple of weeks after I started counting calories, I decided to join a six-month DietBet. I liked the idea of a long-term one so that I would have the weigh-in accountability as I lost weight. It started on June 14th and ended on December 14th. I did my final weigh-in (a.k.a. "weigh-out") yesterday.

I wasn't worried about whether I'd met my goal; I exceeded it by quite a bit. But I was curious to see how much the payout would be because I'd never done a six-month bet before. You can pay monthly or pay up front; I chose to pay up front because it's $35 cheaper, but you still get to split the pot evenly if you win. So, I made an initial bet of $175. All I had to do was lose 10% of my body weight in 6 months, and I'd at least win my money back.

There were 466 people who participated; and in the end, there were 144 people who reached their 10% goal. It was exciting to be one of them!

The results were finalized and the final payout was $394.84; after my initial bet of $175, that means I profited $219.84! I was shocked by this. I was thinking it would be closer to $20-30, because the four-week bets pay out practically nothing (in my experience, anyway).

Six months of working on my weight and it paid for Duck's FUO test and about one dose of his antibiotic--hahaha! (Hey, every little bit helps, right?) And most important to me was the weight loss; that's the whole reason I did the DietBet in the first place.

I hadn't planned to share my actual weigh-in photos. (I always feel awkward taking the "official" DietBet photos--am I supposed to smile? It's kind of like getting your picture for your driver's license at the DMV. You want to smile, but it feels embarrassing when there are 7,387 people in line watching you. And it's only for an ID, so a smile isn't necessary.)

Anyway, my point is that the official DietBet photos are awkward! But I thought it would be fun to do a side-by-side of my initial weigh-in versus my weigh-out. I'm cringing inside at the thought of sharing my "before" pic, but I'm excited to see the change in the area that bothered me the most... 

I usually tend to gain weight pretty evenly, but after having the lower body lift to remove my excess skin (10 years ago, can you believe it?!) the scar doesn't allow fat to form underneath it. So, I gain fat above and below the scar, which gives me love handles and saddle bags at the same time. See the big indentation just above my hips on my before photo?

Now, it's almost completely smoothed out! (It's not very noticeable in the picture from yesterday, but when I'm naked you can still see it. My weight has to be in the low 140's for it to be totally smooth.) But I'm ecstatic that it's not very noticeable now!

My total official weight loss for the six-month DietBet was 34.6 pounds. I had really hoped I would be in the mid-140's by the end of this year, but as you know, I've been going two steps forward and one step back for a couple of months!

I'm actually three weeks into a four-week DietBet, but there is no chance that I'll win it. After the last two weeks of emotional hell I've been through, I'm actually really surprised that my weight isn't higher than my starting weight was, haha. I'm going to do my best as far as counting calories and getting back to a good routine, but I'm not going to go to extremes to drop six-ish pounds in five days.

I have to say, after seeing the results of this six-month bet (and how helpful I found it) it's tempting to do another! It would be extremely difficult at this weight, though--I'd have to weigh roughly 135 by July 1st. That's essentially my goal weight, so it's definitely tempting. The Bet starts on January 1st. Maybe I'll see if Jerry wants to do it with me; his weight is the highest it's been in years, and I know he wants to lose the weight he's gained.

I think I'll see how the next couple of weeks ago as far as my eating patterns and then I'll decide if I'll join the Bet or not. Regardless, though, I'd love to see my goal weight again sometime!

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