Cat Sweaters

You're either a dog person, or a cat person. I am 157% a dog person.  There have been cats I've liked.  Currently, I can think of one cat that I'm fairly fond of... Steph and Justin - your precious little Gracie.  But, I think I like her so much because she's pretty much a dog in a cat's body. 

Here are just a few reasons why I don't like cats:

Kill it with holy water and fire...

1)  Cats want to be friends on THEIR terms.  It's true.  I was deeply traumatized by a neighbor cat when I was in the 6th grade.  Little "Fluffy" had slunk into our garage.  I hated the thought of putting the garage door down and causing Fluffy to be trapped overnight.  So, I thought I would remove her myself.  Don't get me wrong... I'm no fool.  I played the "let's be friends" card.  I slowly walked up to Satan's Spawn, held my hand out for a friendly sniff, and once she began to purr, I gently scratched her head.  After about 5 minutes, I thought I was "in."  I carefully placed my hand around her torso and began to gently lift her off of the camper.  At that point, things went terribly wrong.  I heard a screech, and there was blood involved.  Claws and fur.  At lease she vacated the garage.  That cat put the fear of God in me.  Seriously. 

2)  Cat urine is a whole other brand of nasty.  Sure, if you have a dog, you've cleaned up a mess or five in your lifetime.  But, luckily, your general carpet cleaning solution does the trick and you'd never know that an unsightly accident had ever occurred.  But, with a cat?  A cat pees on the carpet ONE TIME, you scrub the carpet approximately 83 times after the accident, and yet, somehow, on the day you move out of that house, that spot still emits a curiously strong scent of urine.  POISON?  It's extremely possible.

3) Wet cat food is beyond disgusting.  It definitely looks like something that the cat killed to bring home to you as a gift... but first the cat chewed it, swallowed it, and then regurgitated it right into that crappy metal can.  Also, it smells like sewage and dookie.




4)  Vicious, manipulative, and cunning.  Enough said.  You know who else was vicious, manipulative, and cunning?  Hitler.  Coincidence?  I think not.  Also, they kill chipmunks, and chipmunks are cute! 

5)  There is never just "one" cat.  Seriously... every single episode of Hoarders: Buried Alive... and the people are living in their own filth and trash... with approximately 63 felines.  Not dogs, not hamsters... possibly rats and/or mice... but always cats.  And lots and lots and lots of them.  Eww. 

Umm... I don't even have words for this.

6)  Cat puke.  Now, I do have to admit that my dog does her share of puking.  It's true.  She's a big girl, and a silent puker... a really bad combination.  But, it's not a daily occurrence.  Cats?  I believe that if a cat is awake, it's most likely puking, killing, eating, pooping, or destroying.  Fur balls.  That horrid "coughing" sound that they make, just before said fur ball is hurled onto your freshly vacuumed rug.

And this, my friends, is where we come to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 

7)  Cat-related clothing.  This is actually a "win" for cats in my book.  I mean, how can you say "no" to such stylish clothing and accessory options?  A fashion show may be in order.  

Hope you're having a fantastic week!!!

~ Heather

A Healthier Heather

You can be totally proud of me (and Todd)!!  Since Friday, the only day we HAVEN'T gone to the gym was Monday morning!  My fault - I definitely forgot to set the alarm.  But, we deserved a day off, right???  I know it hasn't even been a week yet back on the "health train," but seriously... I feel so much better!  No migraines, I'm sleeping better at night... it's pretty super.

Along with exercise, we've really been cutting back on the crap that we had been eating.  Tons of fruits and veggies, fresh juice (I'm in love with juicing... more on that another time), lean meats for protein, almonds, and lots and lots and lots and lots of water.  My new hobby is peeing.  I can't give up my coffee, though.  It owns me.  I HAVE, however, given up my daily Coke Zero... and Todd has made the switch from regular Coke and Mountain Dew to diet... a great step in the right direction for him!

Last night, for dinner, we had crock pot Stuffed Pepper Soup... and it was amazing and yummy and very good, but very filling.

So, I figured... let's do something totally different today... I thought I'd share this completely easy dinner with all 5 of you, my readers:

Crock Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. lean ground turkey
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 T minced onion
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
1 14oz. can low sodium beef broth
1 can diced tomatoes (I drained mine... I prefer a thicker soup)
1 T minced garlic
Chili powder, salt and pepper - to taste
1 1/2 c. brown rice
Optional - 1 c. chopped mushrooms (we love our mushrooms...)

Basically, I dumped the thawed ground turkey and everything else into the crock pot, gave it a quick stir, and turned it on high for 5 hours.  When I came home from work, it was ready!  I added a little bit of reduced fat Colby-Jack shredded cheese to my bowl... holy yum.  Mocha was a fan as well.

Finally, a quick reminder:

Hope your day is super duper!

One day down...

So, we did it.  After hitting snooze ONLY ONCE... pretty great, right??... we got up at 4:50 a.m. and made our way to Planet Fitness.  I may or may not have slept for another hour after we got back home.  Small victories.  Yay for us.  The new grocery list is ready to go... full of fruits and veggies for juicing and smoothies, and lean meats for protein.

Yesterday, I literally ate until I hated myself.  It's true.  I didn't really think it was possible... but, it is.  I promise.  The day started out just fine... sugar free oatmeal for breakfast.  After that, every single thing that I put into my mouth was absolutely, 100% full of grease and/or fat.  It "may" have included mini cheeseburgers, chips and cheese dip, a few French fries, and a piece of cake.  That just brings us to 4:30 p.m. when I left work.  After that, I definitely went into self-denial.  The rest of the evening is pretty much a blur.  I'm pretty sure a hot dog and some form of ice cream was involved.  UGH.  But, it was actually a good thing.  I felt so completely and utterly disgusting by the time I went to bed... had a full-on stomach ache to the point of nausea... that I was determined to end the horrible habits.  Luckily, I self-induced a sugar coma and didn't even make it to the end of The Vampire Diaries.  This ensured that I would actually get 8 full hours of sleep, leaving no excuse to get up just before 5:00 a.m. and put some much needed exercise back into my life.  And, IT WORKED!!! 

So, a great 40 minute workout this morning... sugar free oatmeal for breakfast; lunch included an apple, low-sodium V8 juice, and yogurt.  I snacked on some raw almonds, too.  I even turned down an absolutely glorious basket of cookies - all day!

But, that's just ONE day down.  There are hundreds to go... keep the encouragement coming, people!  Next week, once I'm really back into my routine, I promise to be more fun.  Really.  Until then:

 

Has anyone seen my motivation? Anyone?

Even though it's been months since I last posted, not a whole lot has changed.  Still working at TMA and still loving it... still ministering at Citylight and loving it... we still have our crazy dog, Mocha... the only real change is that Todd trimmed his beard.  We live a highly exciting life.  It's true.  Oh yeah, and a bunch of new shows have entered the weekday TV scene that I'm totally loving... Bates Motel, Hannibal, the new season of Nurse Jackie, the new season of Grimm, and how can I leave out my beloved teenager-at-heart obsession with The Vampire Diaries!?!?!

Anyway, that pretty much sums up my week - day in and day out - which leads me to this.... something I've come to terms with lately is that I have absolutely lost all motivation to really do anything past getting up in the morning, going to work, getting through the day, and coming home.  After that, I'm pretty much done... and I don't like it!  So, this is where you - my fantastic friends and family - come in.  I'm begging you to encourage and motivate me to STOP being a lazy crap-heap... I WANT to care about my health and fitness again, I want to get to the gym every morning like I had been doing so religiously; I need to get myself out of this rut.  So, can you help a girl out?  Clearly, just setting my alarm for 5:00 am and either sleeping through it or completely ignoring it (let's be honest... this is the case 98.7% of the time) are not working out so well.  So, to all 5 people that read this... but, seriously... it's my hope that YOU are going to (possibly) be checking up on my progress which will give me the kind words and support kick in the pants that I need to get moving again.

So, there you have it... my sad, pathetic attempt at finding motivation in life again.  My alarm is set for 5:00 am; if 'N SYNC

(you're welcome) can't wake me up, hopefully "Bye, Bye, Bye" will annoy the dog to the extent that she'll whine and slap me with her paws and ultimately irritate me so thoroughly that I'll be forced to drag myself out of bed. At that point, I plan to be so annoyed with Mocha for waking me up at that unholy hour that there's no way I could possibly get back to sleep.  So, I'll begrudgingly grab a sweater, somehow make it downstairs without tripping, and take Mocha outside... At this point, I'm hoping that the chill in the air that can only be found prior to 5:00 am will slap me in the face and force me out of zombie mode.  As you can see, I've carefully thought out this plan of attack.  I think it's a pretty good plan.  Also, Todd has offered to simply dump water on me at 4:45 am.  That will probably work much better. 

But, just so you remember that I'm still the super weird girl you've come to know and love, here's a special treat:

I figured that this contains all of classic elements of a typical "Heather" post... humor, poop, my dog... it works.  And, it's 150% accurate. 

Tomorrow morning.  5:00 am.  It's happening.  Today.  Noon.  I'm having Mexican for lunch.  I may have a DQ Blizzard tonight.  Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  Don't judge.

K... Bye!!!!!!!!!