The Purpose of My Life..

is to be sassed by cats.

"Get off the table Razzy, get.. OFF, the table, off - the - table! NO CATS ON THE TABLE"

Razzy: "what's that? This better be important, I was washing my butt"

Me: "Miranda, must you sit in my in-tray? I need that stuff that's under you, move!"

Miranda: "Today the couch does not please me, you'll just have to do something else. Here's an idea: just spend the next hour admiring me. Problem solved and you get to keep your hand."

Cultured Movies, Cultured Food and Fat Razzy

Today I'm not quite feeling my best after a Christmas function last night. That's not because of the alcohol (only two glasses of bubbly) but because I stuffed my face with the breads and dips. 

That bread-munching achieved the immediate goal of stopping the bubbly going to my head, but today I have that peculiar 'sleepy eyes' feeling that happens after I eat wheat. I'm certainly not allergic to wheat, or gluten, but it wipes out my energy in a strange way that no other foods do. What can I say? I'm a sensitive little flower. :D

Tonight I'm getting dose of culture with The Intouchables (subtitles = culture, right?), along with some gossip and girl time - girls' night out! woohoo! This morning was devoted to a different type of culture: the bacterial sort.

It's time for another batch of Kraut.

Given the terrible thing that happened last time, I personally inspected every leaf. It took a while, but my conscience is clear.

The technique I'm using is classic sauerkraut-making. There are only three ingredients: cabbage, salt and the natural bacteria resident on the cabbage leaves. The method is simply massaging the salt-sprinkled, finely chopped cabbage in a 'squeeze and drop' motion, until it becomes soft and there is a pool of brine in the bottom of the bowl.

Today the phone rang and I abandoned my cabbage mid-squeeze. When I got back to it, I was surprised to find that the salt had continued to pull the water out and there was a lot more brine than before I took the call.  It's like magic. 

The covered bowl is sprouting buckwheat.

I also whipped up a bowl of almond cheese.

When I say 'whipped up', I mean 'spent half and hour shelling 300g of sprouted, blanched almonds'. Can't complain though. The sun is out and I did the job outside, while simultaneously giving Razzy a pep talk about the diet.

He's losing the will to live.

I can't take one more day of diet food..

Like every naturally thin creature, Monty quickly tired of the fat-related conversation and started drawing attention to himself with crazy dance moves.

Somebody forgot to tell him that he's the human equivalent of 85 years old. I think that cat's going to be with us a long, long time. He's not had a sick day in his life, apart from a broken leg (probably from indulging in age-inappropriate activities or dangerous explorations to the weak end of a tree branch).

I hope your weekend is starting well and that there is some lazing in the sun involved. Any big plans?

How is the Christmas shopping going? (*starts to hyperventilate a little*)

F3 Challenge Check In!

Thanks for your (Facebook) tips on how to get Razzy healthy. I felt like such a deficient cat mama at the vets. For a start, I turned up an hour early, and had to stand there looking shamed while the vets frantically shuffled appointments to accommodate us.

Then Razzy suffered the indignity of a public weigh-in (7.75kg, yikes!) and I got a telling off by an otherwise nice, Scottish vet.  Apparently all of Razzy's current issues are due to obesity and I've been instructed to either get the weight off him with strict diet and exercise (exercise?) or look forward to him dying of a urinary disease - apparently these can be rapidly fatal in male cats.

So, it's check-in and day #1 for Razzy. My plan is to start him on the prescription diet food while I research raw food options. This morning was painful to my ears, but I'm dedicated, determined, shall be as unmoveable as as mountain when it comes to dieting the chubby cat. 

It's also Festive Fitness Focus Challenge Check-In Day for humans!

How are you doing?

This week I focused hard on diet, particularly on keeping sugar consumption as low as possible. Training was minimal because I just wasn't feeling great for most of the week. In fact, there was no organised training, just a few walks, and some major housework sessions - we are prepping the casa for an upcoming Christmas party. So. Much. To. Do. 

Nutrition was on track. Generally the content was carby breakfasts,

and leafy lunches and dinners:

Snacks were mostly leftovers, but I also worked my way through a pot of quarg.  It's been a while since I had much dairy and it seems to be agreeing with me right now.

There were a few indulgences - a chinese food lunch, a few glasses of wine to celebrate passing exams, a few espressos (*cough*).  Moving right along....

Progress with the flab is slow but steady. I think it's about right. I'm not going crazy, I'm not bingeing, I'm not obsessing, I'm not avoiding any social events.  So far, the scale showdown has been like this:

1. 59.4	31.00%
2. 58.7	29.50%
3. 58.6	29.50%
4. 58.6	29.80%
5. 58	29.50%
6. 57.8	28.60%

I don't put much faith in the BF% readings. They can be as much a 7% different between morning and evening, so I just use them as a sort of comparison, rather than absolute number.

So, yay! I'm back in the 57's!  It's only a little different to last week, but feels major because for the last 6 months at least I've been springing up and down the frustrating 58-60 bungy. It's nice to get past that sticking point. My ultimate weight is about 54kg. That's not as slinky as I'd like to be in my dreams, but maybe those dreams are stupid, a bit pointless and based on what, exactly? 

It's hard to remember what my original motivation was, it's been so long.

I'll be back later with a Week in Eats (somehow I corrupted the last one, causing it to re-publish itself repeatedly like a self-reproducing mutant.. I had to delete it/them), and in the meantime, I look forward to hearing about your challenge-busting week.

Check-In in the comments section!

Almond 'Cheese'

It is so good to have my energy back!  I've got that 'woohooo, I'm really getting better!' feeling that hits after a lingering cold, or longer illness.  It's like a little ray of sunshine in my soul.

I used that little burst of energy to try making something I've been thinking about for a while: nut cheese.

The Week in Eats

How's your week going?

Over here, I'm in full, crazy late assignment mode, so don't mind the crazy hair 

and desk that looks like a paper bomb went off. It's only going to be two days late, 

but still I get stressy about any missed deadline. The cure for a stressy Sara? Yoga. Aaaand...

Peach crumble

I even scribbled down the recipe so that I can write it up for you.. right after I've submitted my gazillion page research report on the wonderment that is attitudes, knowledge and behaviours
surrounding peri-conceptual nutrition. Mmmhmmm.

Nature... sort of

As you may know, The Programmer is very keen on taking pics of animals. As I'm rather busy missing the launch date for the MVM+, today's post is birdies and kitties, all swiped from his files.

Razzy about to sneeze

Junk Free January

Source

I have to admit, confess, that Junk Free January did not exactly get off to a flying start.

I had two issues:

1. Confusion about the stipulation to avoid fructose. More on that in a minute.

2. I.. erm.. forgot. Last night The Programmer brought home a quality bottle of bubbly. A few hours later I was unwrapping my second or possibly, fifth, nice chocolate when he asked: 'Aren't you doing Fun Free January, or something?'. Oooops.

Moving on! At least, having received an email from Junk Free Jan instigator Matt Lentzner, I have more clues about what to do. I had been bombarding him with annoying questions about fructose avoidance.

Just call me Spence..

I know I promised you some pics from my cousin Asher's exhibition, but in all the excitement of going somewhere without my textbooks, I forgot my camera. For those on Facebook though, you can see some pics of his work here.  Also I swiped the above pic, which was my favourite exhibition painting, from Facebook. I had to crop it, apologies to the artist. I've probably changed its entire raison d'être. 

It's a very psychological piece of work, but I won't say too about that, in case that insight comes under the category of personal stuff that you tell your cousin over a few wines and don't expect to be blabbed to the world on her blog. :D I know when to hold it in, most of the time.

The lack of camera was probably a good thing, seeing as the mulled wine, Jamie Oliver recipe, was too delicious and required an intense, two-handed sip and sniff technique. I am definitely making that wine recipe, very, very soon.  Friday 1st of October looks good for that; that day marks the end of Semester 2 assignment deadlines.

That's a paper from the British Journal of Psychiatry. It's relaxing bedtime reading.

I'm writing two hefty assignments. One on the post traumatic stress issues that one might encounter after a natural disaster - for example, an earthquake (for some reason, I'm quite fascinated all things quaky, it's really hard to say why..), and one on Forensic Psychology: Risk Assessment. That one is a bit Criminal Minds.

I'm not sure that Forensic Psychology is something I want to pursue, but I've done my research, just in case. I've watched seasons one through six. I know that if I want to catch baddies, I'd better get a new wardrobe. :D 

Do you think CSI's and Behavioural Analysts really traipse around crime scenes in high-heels and white pants, contaminating the site with flyaway blowdried hair? I am a doubter. 

There's a lot of work to do, so I'd better get back to it. I'll leave you with some foody pics and a few others that I just found on the camera card. 

Razzy monitoring the progress of the pumpkin seeds drying

Lunch at Bully Hayes, Akaroa. Now that I've seen this pic, I intend to head back there ASAP. That was a great lunch.

Bully Hayes is right by the water. I need more of this outdoor ambiance in my life.

Last nights dinner - Roast vege quiche. It has mayo mixed in with the eggs - I had some that needed to be used up. The veges were sauteed with a bit of white wine vingear and salt. This gave the whole thing a more interesting flavour. Quiches can be a bit boring.

Kumara chips and mayo - lunch today.

The Programmer talking to some donkeys. I know.. cute+cute+cute. I can hardly handle it.

I hope you are having a great weekend! I'll be back with more ramblings and pics on Monday ;)

T minus two days

It's just two days and a few hours until I am on that plane to Zurich! In spite of a last minute Psyllium crisis, my confidence is trending toward there still being a business here when I return in August. ;)

The day started in the usual way, with Razzy lying his vast bulk on top of me so that he doesn't miss the crucial moment when I get up and start feeding time at the zoo. However, today things happened a little differently. That's because yesterday, we had a little talk:

'Razzy', I said to him. 'Your butt is so fat that I can't even fit all of you into a single photograph. Have you gained weight?'.

'No', he lied. 'I've got my winter coat on'.

'Ok', I said. 'Let's see how much that coat weighs, shall we?'

(weighing procedure)

'It appears you have gained 500g. If you were a human, this would be no problem, but you are a cat. I'm afraid we must start a militant feline diet protocol immediately'.

I think he was about to protest it, but then got distracted by the idea of lazing in front of the fire.

This morning we began segregated feedings.  I think the problem is that they all get fed together and I don't exactly have time in my day to sit there and watch them finish. I think what is happening is that the others are nibblers (they are all very sleek) and leave food, which Mr Garbage Guts cleans up. Personally I like squishy fat cats, and he is certainly still active enough, but I've seen what overweight does to cats as they age and I don't want that for Razzy. Luckily I have the power. I also have the ability to leave the country for  a month to avoid the incessant cat whining - and he has a loud, loud yowl. 

If anyone has successfully dieted a cat, please let me know how you did it. It's not like I can talk to him about his emotional eating issues... even though he clearly has them. The only approach I can think of is brute force and earplugs.

Today I got the lollypops for the dispatch dept. Look at this!

Whoooooo! 

Forgetting about the excessive packaging and food miles for a minute, these are great. I have sampled... a few. I would have uploaded a photo of me doing this, but bulging eyes and a red face was not a flattering look on me.

Ok, back to it. The to-do list is still a bit longer than I'd like it to be at this phase, but I'm not concerned about all the rushing around because once I get on that plane I've got 36 hours of butt sitting (groooan). That's like... seven or eight movies? Six aeroplane meals? I try not to whinge, because it's a privilege to be able to travel, but long-haul is just not easy. Well, I'm sure it's easy in First Class..... but....

Quaky Cat

As my resident Quaky Cat, Razzy is quite a good indicator of aftershock frequency. He won't come inside for about four hours after a shake. Therefore, the pic above indicates that it's been at least four hours since a decent rumble. Progress! It probably helps that it's damn cold outside, and quite cosy by the fire.

I have some more quake pics for you. The first two show the impact of the 13 June aftershocks, and reinforce the wisdom of all those cordons that are keeping people out of buildings. 

Pic 1: The local cycle shop after the Feb quake:

Pic 2: The cycle shop last Tuesday:

Aftershock = earthquake, right?

There is also further damage to the local church hall. Looks a bit 'deconstructed', doesn't it? Quite angular and maybe even a little bit arty?

The below pic shows what I was talking about in terms of damage being specific to certain types of houses - mostly those with brick walls. Here you see two houses on the hill that are 'completely munted', and yet the two behind them are still occupied and appear to be undamaged (although you can't really tell until you go inside and look for cracks).

In other quake developments, I have some exciting news to share:

They have started pulling down the old supermarket and word on the street (i.e. a nosy call to the New World HQ) suggests that we are getting not only a new supermarket (drooool) but also a spanking new mall. It's beginning to feel like moving to a new city... without the hassle of actually moving. We stay put, the earth moves around us. That's just how we do it over here in Chch.

**Luck**

I wouldn't say I'm a big believer in 'luck' per se, but I'll certainly be hoping for some tomorrow in my Nutritional Biochemistry exam. I put in a solid effort today, but there is only so much you can do in a day and it's a very complex paper. The aftershocks keep coming too, which tends to scramble my brain a bit. Also, I woke up with a sore throat, which I'm killing with vit C and lysine.

As usual I've had my little 'helper' on the job.

And when I say 'little', I mean compared to a whale. Earthquakes may be slimming for me but they are fattening for Razzy. Neighbours tend to feed each others cats automatically these days, just in case the cat on their doorstep is earthquake displaced, and he is not above taking advantage.

As I have to get back to some last minute memorisation proceedings, here are a coupla pics I took tonight.

Easter egg in the fruit bowl. It's amazing how little attention I pay to things just lying around.. in the fruit bowl. Since Easter.

Chocolate sauce on frozen yogurt. Mmmm mmmm. This chocolate sauce was melted dark chocolate, strawberry compote and honey. If you have not tried this, you must.

It's in a cup, which is the only way I can keep my portion decent.

Ok, that luck thing; wish me some of it!