I heart brunch!!
I want to be able to go to brunch or even a Saturday morning breakfast (un-fancy brunch) - I just need to make time in my busy schedule to do it. I am more frustrated with myself than anything because I do not make the most of my time off from work. I can barely get laundry done let alone go and have fun at The Blue Plate Diner.
For those who want to see our end goal-
Check out this video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUIEdxZ5srY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
It's a little weird but awesome- caution if urinating sounds freak you out.
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So we had to add more litter back in the bowl- one of them (not sure which one) pooped on the floor, right in front of the toilet.
From our research- this occurrence is not uncommon; it is their way of telling us we are moving too quickly. Frankly I'm surprised this hasn't happened earlier in this process.
Happily, Fi peed this morning in the bowl while using proper stance- hooray!!!!
For those of you curious about proper stance, I am going to attach a YouTube link in the next post.
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|
Christ Gallery | 380 E. 620 S. Suite B. | American Fork | UT | 84003 |
Start decreasing the amount of litter in the bowl.
Both cats used the bowl overnight- this new phase is going to be tricky b/c we have to make sure they use proper stance and balance all 4s on the seat instead of have feet in the bowl. Which means we need to be there when they use it. Even after 18 days, I cannot see a pattern of when they use it- every time is random- they are not consistent.
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The cats still have yet to use the bowl under the seat so we will leave it as is for today.
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Check out the link- I am quoted in an article about the Cass Barney show we had at the Repartee Gallery back in November 2010!!!
Cass is coming for another show Saturday February 12th from 6-8 PM and she is debuting her latest originals. She is collaborating with a jewelry designer and painting these gorgeous necklaces in portraits and you buy the necklace when you purchase the original. So you get to wear the jewelry in the portrait, thereby becoming part of the artwork itself- Pretty much BRILLIANT!! I know that when I have walked through the National Portrait Gallery in
You can check out these portraits in progress on Cassandra’s blog:
http://churningsandburnings.blogspot.com/
Les and I are both sick today so we haven't moved on to the next step. Thar will have to wait until tomorrow.
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We went and bought a metal bowl, 10 inch diameter, and switched it out with the box taped to the seat.
I'm a little worried since this is such a big change and we are going to have to watch the cats to make sure they use proper stance. Should be fun :)
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Okay- so we cheated a bit but it was necessary.
When Lesley arrived home from work last night, she found the box to be spilled on the floor (it must have fallen or been pushed off the boxes- which I thought couldn’t happen as the box was smashed in there pretty tight) and the cats had spread litter all over my bathroom/bedroom. She was such a trooper and cleaned it all up without freaking out. The last time they did that was on day 1 and she called me nearly in hysterics while I was on a blind date. Way to go Lesley!!!
Anywho, we decided we needed to anchor the box and the best way we could think to do that was put the box directly on the toilet and use packing tape to keep it secure- that box is not going anywhere!!!!!
So far, our cheating is working and both cats have used the box since the big change. We are going to leave it there for a couple days just to make sure M&F are comfortable with this new change before we rock their world and exchange the box for a bowl under the rim of the toilet.
Allison Dawson
Gallery Manager/ Art Consultant
Repartee Gallery at
Midvale, UT 84047
(801) 352-2569
Raise the box another 1-2 inches.
I haven’t raised the box yet today. I usually do it in the mornings to give the kitties a whole day with the latest step but they didn’t use the litter box at all yesterday (weird). They did use it over night so I am going to give them a little more time with this new height and I’ll raise it when I get home from work tonight.
You are not supposed to raise the box if the cat has yet to use it at the adjusted height; you cannot skip steps.
The steps/changes are going to get more and more traumatic for the kitties so I want to make sure they are comfortable with each new step before we move on to the next change.
So my book for January is "The Help" in honor of MLK / Human Rights Day. I'm only 1/2 way through it so far but I'm enjoying it. It took me a little longer than usual to really get into it b/c there are 3 main characters as narrators and they switch voices/perspectives every 2-3 chapters. Once I got the voices set in my head it became a quick read.
I'll give it a full review in a few post.
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Raise the box 1-2 inches.
It's getting more and more difficult to raise the box b/c the space is getting more and more narrow but probably by tomorrow or Wednesday the box will be above the rim and that won't be a problem any more :)
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Oscar Edition:
It seems to me that a film must be rated R in order to get Oscar attention. I realize there are many exceptions to this in recent history (ie: Lord of the Rings, Avatar) but in general, the films that get the “Buzz” are typically rated R.
So that brings me to my weekly rant- I believe The King’s Speech was given the rating of R just to get Oscar attention b/c it DID NOT NEED such a harsh rating. Yes, there are 2 brief scenes of “strong” language but they are actually more comic relief than anything else.* The language is not offensive, nor are the scenes oppressive. If you take out the few words, the film is basically PG (not even PG-13). There is no sex. There is no violence. The King’s Speech is proof that those elements are not required in order to have a film considered “Best”- yet it is R.* The reason I am upset with this fact it that I do not watch movies that are rated R. I think by giving it such a hard rating, it eliminates a large potential viewing public and this is a fantastic film that I believe everyone should see. I really wrestled with myself about going to see this movie and I am so glad I saw it.
There are no special effects, no one gets blown up, no nudity is required, and you actually root for the characters from the very beginning. It is simply amazing storytelling which I think Oscar should praise even the film wasn’t rated R.
The scene that sealed the deal for my voting for Colin Firth as Best Actor is after Bertie’s father’s death (King George V) when he opens up to Lionel, his speech therapist (played by Geoffrey Rush), and tells him of his childhood and when he developed his stammer all while Bertie is putting together a model air plane. In a previous scene, Lionel encourages Bertie to sing the words when he is trying to communicate difficult subject matter, and when Colin Firth sings-songs the words about how Bertie was treated by his nanny, my heart broke. It was simple, it was powerful, it was phenomenal.
* The scenes have a similar feel of
* The rating of R is given for any film that uses the F-word more than once, no exceptions. I think our rating system needs to be changed. I’d much rather hear the F-word 3 times than see nudity, sex or graphic violence (I hear worse language walking down the street in Salt Lake City). R rating is much more broad than all the other ratings and I think that should change. The King’s Speech is a very soft R- I would give it a rating of PG-18, maybe not right for kids and teens to see, but very much appropriate for adults.
Raise the
The cats really have to jump to get in the box now, but it’s not a problem for M&F!! They haven’t struggled one bit during this process (so far) and I am excited to see how they deal with transition of the box onto the toilet seat.
Keep up the great progress Millie and Fiona!!!!
Raise the box 1 inch- so the box is now 4 inches off the ground and in think they will almost have to bounce to get in. Since M&F are doing so well I think I'll raise the box another inch when I get off work tonight to help speed up the process. Once we get to around 6 inches I can switch to a box under the litter box instead of using text books and my In Style magazines.
Slow and steady wins the race- well actually slow and steady helps the chaining of memory and behavior :)
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Raise the litter box 1 inch
The kitties have stop kicking out insane amounts of litter from the box and are using it regularly- I don't think they've even noticed it's subtle rising.
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Raise the litter box 1 inch
The cats like to play in the new box- they love to jump on to the toilet from the box (good sign) and kick the litter out (which is why we only put as little as possible in there). Note to self: need to go buy a small hand-held broom. We need to ween them off of using a lot of litter, they only need enough to clump and they don't bury it any how.
So far, so good :)
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Today is the first day of toilet training Millie and Fiona. Roll your eyes if you must but Les and I have done a lot of serious research and reading (we actually checked out books from the library) and we believe it is possible. Plus M&F are perfect candidates- they are comfortable in our bathrooms jumping on and off the toilet, have never had accidents, and they are smart problem solvers. For example, they don't like closed doors so they learned how to open all the doors in our apartment except 2 (Lesley's bedroom and our coat closet).
Step 1: place a small box with just enough litter next to the toilet.
It is “Happy New Year!!” NOT “Happy New Years!!”
Whew- now that I have that off my chest, let us get down to the nitty gritty: New Year Resolutions.
My BFF has inadvertently on-purpose started a resolution battle on her blog: www.strokedtolife.wordpress.com
My resolutions for 2010 were:
Now usually I try not to make resolutions on the principle that they only serve to remind you of your failures but last year I really felt compelled to not only think about goals but to vocalize them as well.
Having more fun really was FUN!! We went to plays, ballets, saw a variety of films, tried new restaurants, made new friends (thanks Jenny!!!), purchased fun art with fun frames, went on a cruise, and went to Europe (again, thanks Jenny!!).
This year, I want to continue that focus to have fun so I am really going to try to go to my ward activities (and be nice/social), travel (yay for vacation time at work finally kicking in!!), and make my friends and family a priority once again (the only bummer in 2010 was being a workaholic).
This year my resolutions are:
So if 2010 was Having More Fun, then 2011 will be Developing My Talents
Cheers to the New Year!!!!!
So I rang in the new year by inventing a new game called: Just Dance 2 Treadmill (for Wii).
I'm a legend. Let's face it, it happened :)
But my favorite thing tonight was watching my mother dance to "Beat It" on the Wii game Michael Jackson: The Experiance!!!!
Happy New Year- 2011 is feeling pretty good already.
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