Kitty Parenthood

With 2 young kittens in our apartment, it's been quite a learning process to say the least.

Our apartment is definitely not kitty proof.  We have tall bookshelves with things on top of it, spaces behind bookshelves and other furniture that they are able to get to including getting behind the fridge (due to the old nature of our kitchen), and our floors and walls are not insulated enough.

Though Yoni is spayed and Mencken was neutered recently, they're still very energetic kitties and mainly in the middle of the night.

The other day, our neighbor below us finally came knocking on our door, complaining about all the noise at 2 in the morning.  We felt horrible that she was being disturbed, so we brought her a bottle of wine the next day as a way to apologize.

But, in truth, it's totally my fault.  I've been hoping that if we get the kitties used to being in the bedroom with us, they won't be so curious about the place.  They get a bit too excited and proceed to start chasing each other around the apartment.  The galloping around the house is pretty crazy for us, so I could only imagine what that's like for our neighbor below us.

I'm also too much of a softy. 

Recently, in the mornings, whenever it's about 8 or 9 am, Mencken will come to our bedroom door and meow and trill and mew and bark.  That's right.  Mencken totally makes bark-like sounds.  It's like he's like, "Hey, humans!  It's been daylight for like 3 hours already!  Get your asses up!" 

It's definitely very different from when Yoni will wake me up by insisting on snuggles.

Morning Snuggles with Yoni

Last night, Mencken just would not stop being a hyper kitty in the middle of the night.  When we put him outside of the bedroom, but Yoni was still inside, he mewed and mewed and mewed.  At one point, I couldn't take it, and opened the door to let him in.  He purred on my stomach, then slowly moved down to the foot of the bed.  Next thing you know, he was up on the window sill, interested in the noises the rain and wind were making.  Then he tried to start playing with Yoni.  We wanted him to be calm.  So, I put him outside again.

I feel like I tried to give him several chances, but he kept acting up.  I honestly don't know how many hours of sleep I got.

Finally, we woke up to a crashing sound.  Mencken had started to climb up our wall-hanging shoe rack and several of the hooks and shoes came crashing down.

*sigh*

I'm sure that there's no way that I can compare last night and the past couple of weeks to being a parent of human children.  But being a parents of kitties has felt really comparable.

Our Little Furrorists.

City Sights - Just Plain Inappropriate

Now, I'm not necessarily an expert on moral behavior.  But there are just some things that just seem plain inappropriate.

May 2010
On the T (B-Green Line)
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize we were on the freakin' Love Train!
Seriously, the couple got on at the stop after the older woman and her friend/daughter/companion.  Before I took this picture, they were totally making out quite heavily!  I'm all for love, or whatever you want to call it.  But that PDA in such a tight space...I don't care who you are, but if you're riding the T, it's not your personal make out spot.
And to this guy, don't be an ass and just let your girl have the seat.

September 2010
Dance Studio in Lakeville, MA
O. M. G.
Really?
You also want to make sure that the boys know that you're a dancer...so bend over occasionally, buy some clear plastic heels, and get this t-shirt! Like, now!
Boys definitely like dancers...so slut it up, girls!

Simple Pleasures Sundays - Weekend Tunes

When I was a child, some of my fondest memories are from driving with my parents.  In particular, I loved listening to the radio with my parents.

On Saturday mornings, after swim class at the YMCA in Hollywood, we would often head to McDonald's or order pizza.  But it's the moments of getting to the next place that were the most wonderful. 

On the radio on Saturdays, one of the stations would play Big Band music and Jazz.  It just felt so relaxing and like everything was as it should be as we drove through the city back to our home.

Because of my parents, I was exposed to such a wide variety of music.  From Big Band to The Beatles.

Today, on weekends, I often crave those simple moments with my parents again.  Being on the other side of the country, I've had to create my own moments.  So, on weekend mornings, the boyfriend and I will often turn to one of the Music Choice channels that's labeled "Singers and Swing."

I just love the feeling that everything is alright, and for some reason that classic kind of music helps to put me at ease.

Being that October 9th was John Lennon's 70th Birthday, I figure it would be appropriate to share a Beatles song written and sung by John in the Big Band style.  Happy Birthday, John!

Eating on a Budget

The most interesting thing about being poor and on unemployment is what types of meals are made.

Breakfast has been the most difficult meal for me to deal with/adjust to.  In the past 2 weeks, we've not had milk and we've been trying not to use up all the soy milk.  We haven't had coffee, but we're finally able to use all the varieties of tea that we have.  Luckily, I've had some evaporated milk and condensed milk that I've used in making desserts, so we've been using that as substitute milk in our tea.

In the past several weeks, I've renewed my love for peanut butter by having apple slices with peanut butter for breakfast.  It's really quite a healthy breakfast when you think about it.  But it was difficult to know that part of the reason we had to eat them was because we really had nothing else.

The upside is that we're finally able to slowly work on emptying our fridge.  When we make trips to Trader Joe's and Costco, our "pantry" and our fridge get too full, and we start losing track of all our food items.

Though I can't say we've been starving, it's been an interesting part of the unemployment experience.

This week, we finally went to Trader Joe's and Costco.  Never has coffee tasted so good.

Nerd-Cred: Back To The Future

Earlier this weekend, "Back to the Future" was on tv.  Feeling nostalgic, I decided it was perhaps the best thing on television at that moment.  That's when the boyfriend told me that he had never seen the second in the trilogy.

Well, being that I owned the box set, we ended up watching "Back to the Future II" on Sunday night.  And this morning, the boyfriend wants to watch "Back to the Future III," "to see how it ends."

But there was a nerd-moment that I hadn't realized I was part of until the boyfriend looked at me with a little shock and puzzlement.  That moment was when I proceeded to sing along to the movie theme, phrase by phrase.



I'd like to chalk it up to the fact that John Williams is a brilliant composer.  But let's be honest here.  I'm a huge nerd...and I'm so okay with that.