Kittens From The Dark Side: June 2014

Juvy, enjoying the cool inside

I have been keeping myself quite occupied lately with a secret project that I will let you in on when it's ready (related to Chirp, my business), but it has involved a lot of computerizing, which meant that the LAST thing I wanted to do in the evenings was spend MORE time on the computer! Especially now that I've been feeling better, I need a lot more activity than that (though I do stand up while using the computer, so at least I'm not sitting down all day long). So I haven't posted for a while . . . but the whole time I've been gathering up all sorts of interesting things to post, so you're in luck!

Today I'm going to start with cats.

Juvy has been doing a great job NOT peeing in Daddy's slippers while she's in the house in the hot Arizona desert summer afternoons. I usually bring her inside when the temperature gets to 105 for sure - she's got fur, she's black . . . but at least I know that a cat's body temperature is higher than a human's (101.5 compared to 98.6), so it's comparatively less hot to her than it is for me! But still, too hot.

She usually sleeps on the couch (above photo) where I can see her while I'm working, but the other day she cuddled herself into this cat scratching post/bed and squinted her cute little eyes at me in a show of affection. I let her stay there while I was eating lunch and could keep an eye on her.

I was getting set up to film something (something secret!) with the bookcase (and stacks of books!) as the background, and Stephen decided HE was the main event.

Surprisingly (because she's always been a little nervous about traversing through the laundry room), Claude got up on the washer and took a little nap in the cat bed up there. She is very fluffy!

And yesterday we had Catnip Monday!

I decided to see if this spray catnip works because the leafy stuff is messy.

It worked just fine - everyone got crazy, as per usual.

Do you notice something different about the crunchy ball on the right?

YES! It's eaten to death.

This demonstrates how much Allistair loves any toy that is PINK. He has a fetish.

It's been a futile attempt to get him to transition his love for the fallen-to-pieces Maisie (mouse whose stuffing has been re-stuffed in until it can't be kept in by what's left of her skin) to any toy that's not PINK.

That blue mousie above? Same exact size as Maisie, but that blue mouse gets NO LOVE.

All the other crinkle balls? Brand spanking new. The pink one?

I had to throw it away because it was dangerously disconnected from itself.

The one exception to this rule has been a blue crunchy ball that Allistair has been chasing the last couple of days. Maybe the pink streak has ended.

Allistair loves to sleep on the coffee table, and he fell asleep with his chin in my (empty) pill dish.

soooooooo sleeeeeeepyy

This is what the pill dish looks like (when loaded up!)

And Stephen has been posing in his inimitable silly way!

drooping off the end of the bed

drooping off the arm of the couch

drooping off the wall (on both sides!)

What a silly little mongoose!

I found a new supplier for curriculum "ingredients," and got free shipping by ordering 40 three-ring binders at one time. Allistair and Stephen were especially enamored of the packaging!

Later, Allistair decided that Stephen had far too much room in the cat scratcher/bed, so he climbed right in, too. Stephen had a look on his face that said to me, "Why?"

On Saturday, Greg did a bunch of yard work. He decimated a HUGE agave in the backyard that was establishing its own prickly kingdom. We still have its babies (off shoots run underground and pop up in little lines of cutsey little succulents!), but the monster has been vanquished by this HERO:

This is the width of one of the bigger arms of the monster agave

Here is the wound Greg suffered to protect our home and family:

Elm trees in the backyard (they keep our house cooler because they block the devil's own afternoon summer sun):

Greg and I have been watching Columbo on our date nights.

What a great show - thanks, NetFlix! The music by Henry Mancini is fantastic, and the fashion reminds me of the photos of my very stylish mother from the 70s.

I visited my friend Cindy in Casa Grande a while back, and the scenery on the drive there is beautiful.

Look at that lonely saguaro on top of the hill!

And of course, I have a few outfit photos for you.

This is a new dress I found yesterday at Ross.

It's by Maggy London.

Close-up of the pattern:

Yesterday's outfit:

shirt: Old Navy
pants: Macy's
shoes: Aerosoles from DSW
bag: Kenneth Cole

And last week, I bought this dress, by London Times.

The pattern - it reminds me of my Mom because it's very classic (and classy) - I usually wear more feminine patterns, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cut of this dress.
Turns out Greg loves it, too.

I have already been searching for it on eBay in different fabrics.

Update: I found two other patterns and bought them, too!

This snakeskin print:

and

this circle print:

Both of them fit just as well, and they all are patterned, so interesting, but the colors are muted, so they can be paired up in lots of fun ways! Good purchases, Christie!

Cindy and I took a trip to the consignment store (where I dropped off a bunch of stuff - yay!) and one of the things I got (for $0!) was this adorable apple green corduroy jacket. The color is one of my favorites, and I liked how it looked sitting next to my green bag on the chair by the front door.

Also, it looks great with my new spotty dress!

Love the nipped in waist and the huge buttons.

I also got this Michael Kors black knit skirt - it still had the original tags!

And it would've sold for probably $69-$89 and I paid $19. Woo-hoo for my shopping prowess!

I probably won't wear this until winter because it's too dark for the bright and HOT summer days in Arizona.

I love a good exposed zipper.

A while back I found these Lucky Brand denim shorts at Ross on the clearance rack.

Saturday was the first day I wore them.

I couldn't resist the teensy floral pattern!

And the fact that they were $15.99 when they started at $69.50 (though it seems kinda crazy to pay that much for a pair of shorts . . . )

Here is another way I remixed my red Alaska t-shirt

(the skirt pattern is tiny, but it's little white circles on a black background)

And something I view as an experiment . . . three patterns of varied sizes and colors.

Skirt - navy & white polka dots

Shirt - red & white stripes

Outer shirt - light blue denim with itsy bitsy stars.

I wish the skirt were straight instead of tiered, though that wouldn't be a problem if that striped shirt fit properly. I have passed this shirt on to the consignment pile because it is tight in the upper body and baggy in the belly area, meaning that it's not very flattering. But I like the patterns together, and this outfit would be great for patriotic America holidays such as Independence Day (July 4) or Flag Day (June 14)!

Cindy and I also went to Changing Hands bookstore, which carries a weird assemblage of things.

Like Poo-Pourri!

And emergency underpants!

though as a person with an inflammatory bowel disease,
I understand that emergency backup undies
are sometimes important, I don't think I would want them to come in this packaging
or be festooned with this little man!

Definitely getting this book for my niece, Cora (and her soon-arriving little sister)!

I have continued to chug along, trying to find better options for some of the less healthy self-care and beauty products in our home.

Click here to read about the rating scale I'm using to assess items.

Tom's deodorant rates only a 1!

I've been using a home-made body wash, but my skin has been getting itchy and prickly, so I think it's not getting enough deep moisture (I have annoyed and irritable skin).

So I've been browsing body washes, and this one is the only one I've found that is rated in the safe range (a 2 rating)

And then I checked out their daily moisturizer with spf because spf usually increases the toxic-factor of a moisturizer, but this one also rates just a 2 (amazing!) It feels good on the skin, too.