My Meow Week in Review--Sick Cats and the Flu

This year has not been kind to me, relatively speaking. My cat Frankie was diagnosed with stomach cancer. We started him on steroids and that worked for a couple of weeks but the cancer has evolved and they are no longer effective. We know we are going to have to let him go soon, probably this week, and it's just devastating.

My other cat Shadow also started up with uncontrollable vomiting around this same time...her situation we learned is treatable, but scary. She's doing fine but she has intestinal issues that will be ongoing, unfortunately.

But my son celebrated his 8th birthday last week! I can't believe it. Where does the time go? We took him to a fun center where him and his friends went crazy and many children were lost for certain amounts of time but then found...whew. We have learned to never do that again! Ha ha. We survived. But then I got the flu and was out all last week and only started feeling human again Friday.

So my goals have been hit and miss these last few weeks, between life, cats, and sickness.

I started a bullet journal. I'm enjoying this a lot. It helps me think about my day, even if I hardly got a thing done. It's about keeping a record of my daily life. It's boring but hey. I'll take what I can get.

I'm excited about March. March will be amazing. I just know it!

Books Finished: Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West.

Currently Reading: Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe by Greg M. Epstein, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Listening to: This week has been a lot of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History -The Destroyer of Worlds. I also catch up a bit on all-things politics right now: On Point, The Weeds, Slate's Trumpcast, FiveThirtyEight Politics, Code Switch, NPR Politics

My Week in Pictures: OK the fun highlights. I don't take pictures of myself looking miserable. Maybe I should. But it would be weird...I haven't been cooking much either. The last thing I made my son said it was too bland and he didn't like it...so much for homemade mac n'cheese. Le sigh....



Looking Forward to: Not being sick. I'm getting a massage next week too!

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A Reading Life...hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict, and also inspired by Lisa at Lit and Life--Life: It Goes On...is a meme where we get to talk about other stuff we're doing in our lives along with reading!


My postings have been more sporadic than I'd like. Life is pretty crazy right now and I've had to cut some of my blogging time out :( I'm hoping I can at least get 1 in a week if not more.

We headed down to Zion National Park this last weekend with friends. It was so fun and a much needed vacation for all of us.

Listening To:

I'm catching up on Freakonimics and still listening to The Universe Within by Neil Shubin.

Books Finished:

1. Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients by Ben Goldacre.
2. Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil by Paul Bloom.
3. Blood Knot by Tracy Cooper-Posey.

Books I'm Reading:

1. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (just a few chapters left!)
2. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (This is a huge one and I've slowed down....)
3. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
4. Prince of Hearts by Margaret Foxe
5. Insanity Hoax: Exposing the Myth of the Mad Genius by Judith Schlesinger

Looking Forward To:

Warmer weather and my son not being sick anymore! We are going to get some flowers to plant this weekend! I'm hoping we are done with freezing temps til Fall. A girl can hope!

I'm also planning on making a brand new curry dish this weekend. It looks relatively simple and so I'm hoping it turns out well.

Watching:

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. So amazing still. Every Monday night it's what we do as a family! Also watched Blue is the Warmest Color, a French film that was nominated for many awards. I loved it. I could listen to French all day.

Grateful For:

The Earth and Nature. We hiked Zion's all weekend and it was awe-inspiring.

Fun Times:

Zion National Park is so beautiful. I haven't been there since I was a kid with my grandparents.

I'm looking forward to more camping and hiking goodness this spring and summer!

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A Reading Life...hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict, and also inspired by Lisa at Lit and Life--Life: It Goes On...is a meme where we get to talk about other stuff we're doing in our lives along with reading!

It was a crazy week! My in-laws stayed with us for about a week. We had my mother-in-law, brother-in-law, his three young kids, their 2 cats and 1 dog. We literally had a zoo! It was fun, though, for Gabe. He enjoyed having his cousins over and playing til they all dropped.

Listening To:

The Universe Within: Discovering the Common History of Rocks, Planets, and People by Neil Shubin.

Books Finished:

1. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
2. Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Reading:

1. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Yes, I'm still reading this one. It's huge but I'm almost finished. Another couple of weeks and I should be done!
2. Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients by Ben Goldacre. I'll be finished with this one this week. It's really depressing and has changed everything on how I think about drugs and the drug companies.
3. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. This one has been on my shelf for awhile and am excited to finally work my way through it. It's a chunkster so I'm planning on taking a few months.
4. Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil by Paul Bloom.

Looking Forward To:

Vacation! We headed down to Zion's National Park Thursday and staying down there for a couple of days. We are going with some friends and their kids and doing a lot of hiking and relaxing after :) It's been along time since I've been there. Very, very excited!

Watching:

I've been catching up on Modern Family, The Blacklist, and Bones this last week. And I'm halfway through season 7 of Dexter.

Grateful For:

Slightly chillier than normal temperatures so help me relax indoors and watch TV and read without feeling too guilty about not being outside!

Fun Times:

I made a rainbow of fruit for St. Patrick's Day! Gabe helped and it was a lot of fun. We topped it off with green pancakes for dinner :)

Fun at the Dinosaur Museum with his cousins!

Hiking!

We had a blast!

Last week we also got to see Neil deGrasse Tyson come speak at the University of Utah! It was amazing. The man is pure genius both in science and speaking about science to the layperson. One-in-a-lifetime experience!

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A Reading Life...hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict, and also inspired by Lisa at Lit and Life--Life: It Goes On...is a meme where we get to talk about other stuff we're doing in our lives along with reading!

It's been another crazy couple of weeks. I've another sinus infection that I'm just barely starting to get over. But we've been having fun hiking and enjoying the first thralls of Spring!

Listening To:

More podcasts :)

Books Finished:

• Container Gardening for Dummies by Bill Marken
• Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
• The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

Reading:

• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (I'll finish this one off for my feminist book club this week)
• Monster by Walter Dean Myers (Another book club pick)
• A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (This is a big and beautiful book but I'm over halfway through!)
• Big Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients by Ben Goldacre (This one is for my skeptic book club)

Looking Forward To:

We have a mini vacation coming up the first weekend in April. We are heading down to Zion's National Park to do some hiking and exploring for a couple of days with friends and their two kids. So excited! I haven't been down there since I was a kid.

Watching:

The Cosmos reboot with Neil deGrasse Tyson. Caught the first one last week and will enjoy the second one tonight with the family. We also finished up the original Carl Sagan Cosmos a couple of weeks ago. Always amazing.

Making:

I made cashew chicken the other night. It was actually pretty good. My devoted husband told me to put it on the permanent list!

I also had a few girlfriends over for some cocktails and chatting this weekend and I made this for them. The Scooby Snack shot.

It was amazing :)

Grateful For:

My Utah mountains. We got some fabulous hiking in this weekend!

Our Fun Times:

We hiked the snow Sunday! I had no idea it was still so snow-packed in the mountains. Ha ha! But we were able to get to places you wouldn't normally be able to get to due to the snow. So we got to see the mountains from a whole new perspective. Just a bit sun-kissed but other than that it was a success!

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A Reading Life...hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict, and also inspired by Lisa at Lit and Life--Life: It Goes On...is a meme where we get to talk about other stuff we're doing in our lives along with reading!

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I've been working hard on learning some programming and getting my feet wet. And then Gabe, devoted hubby, and I all got sick this week and weekend. So it's been busy and crazy and all that and I haven't gotten much up over the last couple of weeks, which makes me really sad. So I'm glad I found some time and energy for this post!

Listening To:

Stuff Mom Never Told You, a podcast, of course! The last one I listened to was on female firefighters and all the tough stuff they have to put up with for venturing into the field.

Books Finished:

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.

Reading:

1. Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
2. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
3. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
4. Container Gardening For Dummies by Bill Marken (still, but almost done)
5. A few more here and there as well....

Looking Forward To:

Spring! We also do the Festival of Colors put on by our local Krishna temple. It's a yearly tradition now and we all really enjoy it.

My crocuses are starting to bloom!

I also have a couple of big weekends of programming classes and seminars so there's that this weekend and next :)

Watching:

I wish I were watching the Oscars tonight but I have no TV signal since I live in the boonies and I don't have a strong antenna. And I could find no one to watch it with :(

But I did just buy and finish The Cosmos: A Personal Voyage with Carl Sagan. It came out back in 1980, I think. And it's still relevant and beautiful today. Neil de Grasse Tyson's newly updated version is coming out next week! Can't wait to see that.

Making:

I made some delicious lasagna soup the other day! I also have plans for a new recipe to try out some cashew chicken in the crockpot. That's the one thing I miss about Spring and Summer, the soups.

Grateful For:

Minecraft...sometimes I need a really good babysitter to get things done aka my programming classes and this works perfectly!

Fun Stuff We Did This Week (and last):

Frozen yogurt this week. This place even has a fireplace!

My cat Shadow was in heaven on Gabe's lap :)

I bought this for Gabe and we both loved it. I love all of his books and this one was another beautiful one.

With the nice weather we've been having, we've been getting Gabe out and trying out his new birthday bike!

We also headed up on a little hike right by our house earlier this week. It was a gorgeous view. I love my Utah mountains!

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A Reading Life...hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict, and also inspired by Lisa at Lit and Life--Life: It Goes On...is a meme where we get to talk about other stuff we're doing in our lives along with reading!

Valentine's Day was last week. It was a lot of fun with Gabe. We successfully threw together a Minecraft party for him for his birthday! So the last couple of weeks have been pretty productive!

Listening To:

Inquiring Minds podcast. This is a new one I just found and it's pretty good. The first episode they talked with one of the few female astronaut's (Marsha Ivins) that have been in space. She's flown 5 space shuttle missions. It was fascinating to hear her stories in space and her views on where the space program should go now.

Books Finished:

• NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman.
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.
• Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan.

Reading:

• Container Gardening For Dummies by Bill Marken.
• Nick and Tesla's Robot Army Rampage by Bob Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith.
• The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt.
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
• A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Coming Up:

Movie night with my ladies this weekend. We thought we'd go for something fun and light while we wait out the winter blues. Mamma Mia!

Watching:

Not much, actually. I don't have broadcast TV so I haven't caught much of the Olympics except for some news stories online here and there.

We did see the Lego Movie for Gabe's birthday, though!

Making:

My homemade blackberry liqueur came out magnificent! So I made some really pretty and yummy blackberry bramble shots a couple of weeks ago.

I'll be making nothing super special this week. I'm kind of burned out with Gabe's birthday and Valentine's Day!

Grateful For:

Some warmer weather this week. I've been able to get out for some walks and biking with Gabe.

Looking Forward To:

Hiking as the weather warms up!

Pictures:

Valentine's Day art project! I made red pancakes and layered the toppings with whipped cream, chocolate chips and chocolate syrup. Sparkling cider for Gabe and chocolate wine for the devoted husband and me :)

Saturday was the celebration of the birth of Charles Darwin so we headed up to the University of Utah for the afternoon.

The Tracy Aviary stopped by to talk about their awesome birds!

We rode the train up and back home. Gabe and his friends loved it!

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A Reading Life...hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict, and also inspired by Lisa at Lit and Life--Life: It Goes On...is a meme where we get to talk about other stuff we're doing in our lives along with reading!

This week brings Gabe's birthday! We're throwing him a Minecraft party since the boy is obsessed!

We had a pretty good snowstorm this last week as well which helped clear out the inversion here and we are all breathing a little better for at least a week...(then it all comes back).

Listening to:

The Freakonomics podcast. I'm only 2 in but fascinating!

Books Finished:

• Shatter Me by Teherah Mafi
• Find Momo: Hide and Seek With an Adventurous Border Collie by Andrew Knapp
• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.
• Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll.

Reading:

• Charlotte's Web by E.L. White (We are reading this to Gabe. He's really
  enjoying it!).
  
• Nurtureshock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.
• A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Coming Up:

I'm excited for Gabe's birthday this weekend. We still need to plan a game and get the decor details down this week. It should be fun, though!

Watching:

The Mindy Project! I just caught up and am so happy! If you watch it you'll know why if you don't then you need to get on that :)

Making:

I finally have all the necessary ingredients to make Blackberry Bramble jelly shots for my movie night with the girlfriends this weekend!

I'm also making homemade sloppy joes and a yummy crockpot chicken this week.

And a creeper cake for Gabe's birthday! Wish me luck on that one!

Grateful For:

Snow. The inversion has been killing us out here in Utah. But we finally got a snowstorm and we're breathing a bit better for a short time. Plus I got to go outside and play in the snow with Gabe and build some snowmen!

Looking Forward To:

Spring. I've had three flowers start to sprout this month and it's making me antsy for the Spring and seeing green again and warmer times to play outside. And flowers!

Pictures:

We had a lot of fun in the snow before it melted the next day!

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A Reading Life...hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict, and also inspired by Lisa at Lit and Life--Life: It Goes On...is a meme where we get to talk about other stuff we're doing in our lives along with reading!

I've been fighting a sinus infection the last three weeks or so and I'm slowly starting to feel human again! Yay!

Listening to:

I started the "You Are Not So Smart" podcast hosted by David McRaney. I recently read his book of the same name a couple of months ago. His podcast interviews various psychologists and other experts relating to cognitive biases, etc. Fascinating stuff!

Books Finished:

1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
2. Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us About Sex, Diet, and How We Live by Marlene Zuk.
3. Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson.
4. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling.
6. Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories From History Without the Fairy-tale Endings by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie.

Reading:

1. Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids by Eline Snil.
2. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Saw There by Lewis Carroll.
3. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.
4. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Coming Up:

I'm starting a 12-week programming class on Tuesday! I've been dabbling a bit here and there over the last few month but this will be the first time I'm getting into something more concrete. I'm excited!

Watching:

I haven't been watching too much. Still on Dexter. I won't finish that series up for awhile. My regular shows have come back on: Bones, New Girl, The Mindy Project. And my friend is trying to get me into Big Bang Theory, so I've started the first season on that.

Making:

Recipe and image source

I made chicken noodle soup the other night and it was delicious! I also tried out a new cocktail recipe: Red Velvet Cupcake cocktails! I found it on Pinterest and it contained really simple ingredients. Yay! Lots of times the recipe calls for a lot of expensive and unavailable liqueurs that I just can't find in my area. So it's fun to find ones that are yummy and simple :)

Grateful For:

My son Gabe. He makes me laugh! Just this week while driving home from preschool he tells me: Even though my great-great-great-great-great grandparents are dead I still love them and miss them.

It was so cute. He then proceeded to tell me how he missed everyone who has died. He's got a big heart.

I'm also grateful for amazing people who are willing to stand up against the norm and to speak out for the equality and rights of others. I'm thinking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and all those who have stood up in the face of horrific opposition to help those who can't help themselves.

And did you know that it was actually a woman named Claudette Colvin who refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama? She was dragged from the bus and kicked and yelled at by police officers and taken to jail. She was only 15. She was too young, poor, and pregnant to be considered an ideal poster child for the movement, unfortunately. But I want to remember her and her bravery, even though most do not know anything about her.

So many do not have legal access to basic human rights. I hope we can remember that and do what we can to change that all over the world.

Looking Forward To:

Still planning Gabe's birthday in a few weeks. I've been searching Pinterest to find simple and no fuss ideas for a Minecraft party. I found a pretty simple Creeper cake that I think I can manage!

Pictures:

We got Gabe some Magformers for Christmas and his dad helped him.

Shadow and Frodo snuggling :)

Wolfy is a shnuggler

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A Reading Life...hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict, and also inspired by Lisa at Lit and Life--Life: It Goes On...is a meme where we get to talk about other stuff we're doing in our lives along with reading!

It's been a really rough last month. I had big plans for celebrations and new traditions but they mostly fell through. I did get the Winter Solstice celebrated and that was about it (of course, Xmas and New Year's Eve were a hit). Plus it was a very tough year. So I'm very excited to getting into a brand new year with new possibilities!

Listening to:

Podcasts. This week I started a new one called History of Philosophy. So interesting.

Books Finished:

1. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
2. Hunted by Kevin Hearne
3. Forever His by Shelley Thacker.

Reading:

1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
2. Paleofantasy by Marlene Zuk

Coming Up:

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Movie night is this week with my ladies! That sounds funny but me and some friends have been getting together since late Fall about once a week or every other week to watch some fun films, try out new cocktails, and hang out and laugh and cry or whatever :) It's been keeping me sane this long cold and dreary winter. And this week is The Descendants with George Clooney. One of my favorite films!

Also, the holiday decor must come down this week. We had to take the tree down last week since it was a real tree was drying out fast...but I held off on the rest of the decor. It's sad taking it all down. I love how cozy everything feels during the holidays. It helps take the stress off during the hustle and bustle of the season. But taking it down means I can put it up later ;) And the wheel of life keeps on turning :)

Watching:

1. Homeland--Just finished up with the first season! 
2. Scandal--well, that was finished up 2 weeks ago but I'm behind a season and I can't wait until the third season comes to Netflix. That is one addictive and crazy show!
3. Dexter--Just started season four.

Making:

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I plan on making Hawaiian haystacks, homemade fettuccine alfredo, and chicken noodle soup this week.

For movie night I'll be trying my hand at Blackberry Bramble gelatin shots! I got a calendar that has one or two new jello shot recipes each month and I've decided to try them all...the only drawback is my state of Utah has a limited supply of liquor so I may have to be very creative as I make them!

Grateful For:

Antibiotics! Beds and Netflix. You can tell what I've been doing the last few weeks....

Looking Forward To:

This new year of 2014! Gabe turns the big 5 next month and wants a Minecraft party so Archie and I will have to be pretty creative to get this pulled off. Five means kindergarten in the Fall. I can't believe he's getting so big now!

Pictures:

Despite everyone getting sick the last 3 weeks, we still found ways to have fun on Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Ice cream and movies

Decorating sugar cookies!