CT scan or CAT scan?!?

   My doctor is running 65+ min behind, not that I'm counting.l, and it's pissing me off. This is exactly what cell phones are for.

   The good news is I'm back in the tiny room now, and my CT scan shows that there's a kitty face inside my skull. I suspected that all along... Do you see it?? I can't not see it.

   I'm here to find out if I can continue scuba diving and stop getting horrible ear infections all the time. He's going to tell me I need surgery, which is no bueno...

Curiosity killed the what?!

   Kismet is definitely the picture of a curious sub-three-year-old kitty. If I light a candle, she absolutely won't leave it alone. And well she looks pretty in the soft glow, she's risking her fur going up in flames.

Here she's risking being shipped across the country. She won't get out of the box.

Here she's risking getting shut in the dryer, to chase the "dryer bunnies" that Sean gave me for my birthday.

Here she's stealing my seat, and risking being sat upon, or smothered by that fluffy down blanket.

Troublemaker!

Golden girl / Tetris

   You know it's cold outside when the dogs wanna sleep on my feet and the kitty wants to sleep on my lap! The couch is a bizarrely-furry game of Tetris lately.

Mer-Cat

   I stopped at Petco today to stock up on canned kitty food. When I get home and looked at my receipt, I noticed that all of the Merrick brand was listed as "Mer-cat". So of course I had to draw it:

Animal Olympics

   Taylor gold medalled in inverted stiff-legged couch surfing:

   Kismet is thinking of becoming a diver. Maybe. Maybe not. But perhaps. She's not sure really. Definitely curious though.

   For sure she's top of the podium for beauty and sweetness, in her extra-long winter-fur finery:

   Aki keeps bringing me the little plush moose that Sawako brought. It's her favorite.

   When I take it away and tease her, she makes it known that she is tops in the "awful demon face" race!

   Who will win the gold for maximum hibernation? It's going to be a close race... perhaps a four-way tie between us!

This happened.

   The aftermath of Kismet's hug attack. True story.

Half Mara Madness

On your marks...

Staying strong at mile 5...

   The final hill (2 miles long, but who's counting?!) Please, no pictures...

Kickin' in to the finish line... With a time of 2:03:01.

   It was humbling to be running with awesome first-timers (Cat & Erin), to be cheered on by a bestie who inspired me by recently completing her first half (Allyson)--not to mention several Ironmen (Greg, Becky & Ray). And it was amazing to be there with Talva, who passed me twice and looked impossibly strong as she completed the full marathon in about 3:31, achieving Cheetah status (running a mara in under 4:00 in all 50 states). What an incredible day!

   I laid around and did nothing for the balance of it, in case you were wondering. ;)

Expert photographer and cheerer-onner, Greg:

The incredible Allyson. She always makes my day!

With superstar Cat:

Ray & Becky:

Relaxing at the finish...

#inktober Sleep Zombies

Anyone else never get a full night's sleep? Do your pets stay up with you?

Beggar 8/27

   This is what it's like to eat dinner at my house. Kismet often makes it feel like Gypsy is still here. :)

Snow Cat

   Sketch for David B's thank you card (he procured the Gold Passes for us on our recent ski trip). This is his kitty, Sosa, and I call it "Snow Cat". I'm really excited for him to get it. He loved the card I drew for him last time with Sammy, the dog he hoped to get someday. But he actually has Sosa already! It was such a bummer he was unexpectedly unable to join us on this trip. Here's hoping my body is back to 100% and ready to shred up a storm next season!

Aki: 1, Bird: 0

My lil' beastie caught another birdie. She was standing at the door, whining and quivering with excitement to show me. Poor bird!
   And then... I convinced her to drop it. You can't really see it here (just the tip of her tail), but Aki is SNARLING at Kismet, who is in the house, peeking at Aki's bird. Insolent cat!

Unleashed at Machine Head!

   Once again, Dick turned us loose in his shop to make metal art out of my logo for this year's Art Unleashed. We worked for 8 hours and turned out somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 pieces of all shapes, sizes, & finishes. Plus, we had a lot of fun as usual. This year it was Dick, Robert Q, Matt, Jared, Connie, Randy, Jason, Amber, Ricky, Jana & me. Whew!
   More photos to come... I've volunteered over 22 hours this week (for HSGKC & for my friend Michele's business—in addition to working 40) & I need a nap!

Sometimes a Horse is Just a Horse...

...and a kayak is just a kayak!

   My HR partner just called to tell me she had a dream last night, in which she was babysitting my chestnut-brown horse and my orange tabby, and she lost the horse. It turned out okay—she got him back. But she was worried for a bit! She said, "Jen, you're not thinking of adding a horse to your menagerie, are you?" I said, "Not right now, but you never know what's on the horizon!"

   Last week while staying at the hotel in Omaha, Allyson and Scott and I all reported having unusual, very-specific dreams such as this one. In one of my dreams, I was at the swim meet for Corporate Challenge, and before the meet we were all taken to a huge room (essentially a giant shower) and told that we all had to shower together prior to the meet. And no one wanted to compete, because we knew we had to look each other in the eyes and work together on Monday!
   I also had a dream that I had a date with a new guy, and we had only emailed each other so far, and when we met at dinner he informed me excitedly that he had just bought a brand-new kayak—the same kind I have from LL Bean. And it was a total turnoff because I felt like he was trying too hard and thought, "This guy doesn't even KNOW me yet—I'm not going to kayak with a guy on the FIRST DATE!" LOL
   The subconscious mind works in strange ways; who knows what all this could mean. I certainly don't want to know what Freud would make of it!!!

Omaha Zoo: Big Cats

Big, beautiful tiger

IT'S SO... FREAKING...HOT...

Zzzz...

white tiger

lion

leopard

jaguar

   But how do you tell the difference between a leopard and a jaguar? I cheated and used this chart, just to be sure.

serval