on j u m p today, i found Abbie the cat’s blog: Abbie The Cat Has A Posse. it’s written from the point of view of Abbie, a black-and-white male cat. the latest post is about the recent death of Martha, Abbie’s sister. i couldn’t finish it the first time through because i was crying too hard. i wondered if maybe i was feeling hypersensitive today, so i asked Brian to read it, and he confirmed that it is, indeed, a sad post. in retrospect, what makes it profoundly sad is Abbie’s confusion surrounding the circumstances of Martha’s death. the second time i read it, i managed to finish, but again, not without some tears.

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the vet’s office called today to check up on Hopper’s skin condition. i was going to call them anyway, but they beat me to it. the bald patches behind her right ear and the tuft missing from the left side of her neck are growing in nicely. however, now she has a bald patch behind her left ear, that i noticed over the weekend. she hasn’t been scratching any more than usual, so the office told me that they wouldn’t put her on an antihistamine, which was the original plan if it wasn’t improving. but antihistamine alleviates itchiness, which doesn’t seem to be the case here. it doesn’t look as bad as her right ear did, so who knows? they said to continue giving the Derma Caps and that they’ll check back.

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i’ll end on a bright note. this was from today’s Get Fuzzy, my absolute favorite comic strip:
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http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/archive/getfuzzy-20050926.html

accessed 9/26/05

Saturday8

i’ve been thinking this week – what makes you beautiful? of course, beauty comes from inside … but every girl has her ‘beauty secrets.’ tell us yours!

1. tell us your favourite brand of facial cleanser. (i’ve been bouncing around, and i need advice!) 
dermalogica Anti-Bac Skin Wash

2. i recently discovered c.o. bigelow’s rose face lotion, and my skin has never been softer (really!). tell us about your favourite facial moisturiser. 
i have really oily skin, but even so, you still have to use a moisturizer.  i use dermalogica Oil Control Lotion, which doesn’t come on heavy or greasy, and really does soak up excess oil.

3. i have a great body lotion from les couvents des
minimes (bath & body works) – the honey kind. WOW – i just want to eat my arms when i put it on! what’s your favourite body lotion? 
unlike my face, the rest of my skin tends to be dry.  i don’t usually like heavily scented lotions, so i use Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Body Emulsion.

4. must-haves for mascara … i prefer the kind with the white primer. do you wear mascara, and if so, what brand/shade is your favourite? 
i don’t wear make-up on an everyday basis, but when i do, i like Lanc?me D?finicils in black.  this particular mascara makes it look as though i actually have eyelashes!

5. razor – UGH. do you wax, razor, pluck, or use depilatory? if so, give us brand that work for you. 
i just shave and use the Gillette Venus.

6. LIPS – like many women, i feel naked without some colour on my lips. i prefer deep plums & wines. tell us your favourite brand and color (if any).  my lips tend to be dry, so i use Mary Kay’s Satin Lips? Lip Balm, which is the best lip balm ever (here’s my full testimonial).  when i was teaching, my make-up was limited to mascara and some lip color, but not a lot of color.  i liked a little, but not as much coverage as lipstick, so i’d use Clinique Almost Lipstick.

7. i never wear foundation/base … just a little
powder every once in a while to stave off the shinies. how do you feel about foundation? 
part of the reason i don’t wear make-up every day, mainly in the summer, is because it’s so humid here and i hate the way my face ends up feeling.  in the fall and winter months, however, i might wear foundation to even out my skin tone when going out at night.  i use Clinique’s Stay-True Makeup Oil-Free Formula, for obvious reasons.  i never put it on my with my fingers because that’s just gross.  so are those wedges.  i love a good brush and use Chanel’s Le Pinceau Teint (foundation brush, i guess). after initially applying foundation, i use loose powder (Clinique’s Blended Face Powder), and Clinique’s Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder throughout the evening for touch-ups.

8. if you could do away with one female
‘beauty convention’ – shaving, perfumes, eyeliners, blushes, hair
masks, etc., what would you like to rid the world of? 
the concern with one’s weight

the new blog surfer site i’ve come across. it works the same as the others–surf a blog for 30 seconds and receive half a credit. i just signed up last night and haven’t seen any bogus sales blogs as of yet. the blogs i have seen are different from the usual rotations, so that’s refreshing.

saw the chiro on Wednesday, who says that there’s nothing physically wrong with me that my back should be hurting the way it is. with my flexibility and muscle strength i should be able to do high kicks all day, he said. and as much as i want to go back to martial arts, my back has just been too painful.

he’s convinced that the problem is organic, that my body is incredibly toxic because of all the medications i’ve been on, which he’s been telling me all along. and because i’m constipated (again, due to the meds, he said), i’m not getting rid of all the waste that you’re supposed to get rid of. once again, he advocated drinking those damn nasty-tasting protein shakes. now, he wants me to drink them twice a day!

and for the last couple of days, i have been drinking them twice a day! instead of making my own (ok, Brian makes them), i buy a smoothie from the pizza place across the street and add the 2 scoops of protein mix. ok, Brian adds them and throws it all in the blender. you can’t just stir it in with a spoon because it’s so lumpy.

i don’t like using the blender because the noise scares me. stupid, i know. high maintenance, according to the chiro. well, when Brian was at work yesterday i used it all by myself after buying the smoothie. it was a near disaster. everything went fine until i went to pour the stuff back in the cup. then the lid fell off and the rest of the smoothie ended up on it and in the sink.

today, i marched over to the pizza place with the tub of protein mix tucked under my arm. the counter girl didn’t want to take responsibility for making a smoothie and adding the stuff in, but the owner’s son didn’t mind. and he said that any time i come in, just ask for him and he’ll make it for me. yay. their smoothies have ice cream in them (as opposed to just frozen fruit, milk, and ice in the homemade ones), which is probably why they taste so good. but at least i’m drinking the shakes!