RIP baby kitty

You were the best cat. I'll miss you always.

Chase-er-meow-meow

My little kitty is sick. I noticed that she was coughing every so often over the weekend. Then by Monday I knew I had to take her to the vet.

We went to the vet on Tuesday and they said she either has a cold or asthma. She also has a lump but I'm not thinking about that until later, the doctor agreed.

So they sent her home with some antibiotics. By Thursday evening there wasn't any improvement and she had stopped eating and drinking. So I took her back to the vet.

The vet suggests x-rays to determine if she does have asthma. We had previously discussed the fact that sometimes asthma will not show up on the film so there was that to consider. The x-rays came back with classic cat asthma lung. The vet gave me a comparison to look at of a healthy lung.

Now little meowers is on pred. She got a shot last night and then a dose this morning. Luckily, I had some left over from the ear infection so I didn't have to buy more. The vet said that she should be better by this morning and if not, give her another dose of the pred. She wasn't better when I got home and continued to wheeze and cough, so I gave another dose. The vet called to check on her and suggested I give her double dose tomorrow morning and if she doesn't improve bring her back for a different course of action.

Poor little kitty. She is 100% unhappy and it makes me super sad.

Stalking Britney Spear's Stalkers

Each day I drive home along the old highway road directly in front of the gated estate in which Britney Spears has recently purchased a new home.

Everyday there a bunch of large SUVs parked in the dirt across from the estate. This is out of the ordinary. There are dozens of pull offs to see the views of the city all along this old school highway, you can see the ocean from one side and the valley on the other, it is super curvy and fun to drive. I like to time myself back and forth, but I digress.

I began asking random people who also drive that way home who the hell are these people? Are they a running group and plan to go running in the hills? Are they day workers? No, they are PAPARAZZI. How exciting and sickening.

Today there were 11 vehicles parked in the dirt all in a row. Most of them have just one person with dark sunglasses looking bored. There is definitely a sense of camaraderie with the phothogs, almost like a tailgate party.

My plan is to start bringing my camera so that I too can pull off and start to take some pictures. I will take pictures of them waiting and hoping for Brit Brit to show off her c-section scar via her eloquent exit from a low centered sports car. I will post them here for your viewing pleasure.

Ed Begley Jr.

Matt and I usually go to the Tuluca Lake Farmer's market on Sunday mornings. We go because they plastered our neighborhood with signs indicating they have parking.

The Studio City farmer's market is also on Sunday. They are not able to boast about ample parking, mostly because they are bigger and therefore more parking spaces taken by more people. And it is Studio City.

Ed Begley Jr has a booth at the Studio City market. I purchased some all natural lavender soap. He was very grateful for my purchase. He informed me that the plastic bag in which he placed my soap was made of recycled produce. I informed him that I would once again recycle the bag and fill it with dog poop. He thanked me and we wished each other a nice afternoon.

I'm going to make Rhubarb Crisp. Somehow I will find a way to work in some blood orange juice as they are freaking amazing and I think they'd work well with rhubarb.

30 days

Matt and I have made a big lifestyle change. We have gone vegetarian for at least one month. Today is one full week eating no meat (eggs and dairy are ok). I don't miss it. I've explored food items I've never considered and I'm really enjoying the journey.

We also joined the Y and did a 15 minutes on the elliptical machine and then swam laps. Hooray for being on the road to fitnes.

Tonight I am making this:

2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp tahini
1/2 cup tamari
1/3 cup toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tbsp sake or dry white wine
4 portobello mushroom caps
1 tbsp peanut oil

Combine the garlic, ginger, and tahini. Stir in tamari, sesame oil, brown sugar, and sake. Blend well.

Place mushroom caps in a shallow dish. Add the marinade, turning to coat the mushrooms, and let sit for 30 minutes, turning once.

Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms (reserve the marinade) and sear, turning once until well browned and slightly softened, about 5 minutes.

Serve mushrooms with marinade drizzled on top.

I might grill them rather than saute. I will serve them with either wasabi mashed potatoes or brown rice and a salad. Edamame or an appetizer.