Updates on the Fuzzfront

A veritable pile of rats. Freya (she was moving when I took this), Lilith, Midna, Anise, Ai's behind, and Absinthe. I don't know why they're all piled on one another like that - there are four other hammocks available to them, including the lower level of the hammock they are on (which is a lot larger). But, they seem to be comfortable, I suppose.

I've bought them a new cage, a Critter Nation, which on one hand will be much larger than their current living space, and on the other hand will be much easier to clean. I'm going to make liners for their new home, and hopefully I'll be able to move them in the day the new cage gets here - hopefully by March 10. I'm really excited to not have to deal with this cage anymore. It's become a hassle to clean.

I've also received some information on spaying the older girls. Through North Star Rescue I learned about a spay and neuter clinic in Fremont, called For Paws. They're a lot less expensive than what the vet was asking, although I'm still not completely certain how much they're going to ask for (I had been told by the rescue that it would probably be around 80$ per rat, but it seems like it might be more than that). I'm also uncertain if the vet has successfully spayed a rat before, or if she has just read the literature on doing so.

I'll probably have all the information I need about that next week.

Sick, Plans, Books

We might be moving into a new nest at the end of March or early April. While we really like our current apartment, its cost east up a not-insignificant part of Tene's paycheck, and we've been thinking it might be nice to find somewhere either less expensive, or possibly get a 3-bedroom and move in with a roommate (perhaps friend Bancus). We're still uncertain, but it's something we've been thinking about because our lease is going to be over soon and rent will be increasing slightly.

Lately I have been spending my time being sick with the cold-I-just-cannot-shake. Which has been extremely annoying, to say the least. I've been sick, to some extent, for three weeks now; and every time I've been so sure that I was on the mend and going to feel completely better in a couple of days , I've ended up sick in bed within the next two days. It's mostly cold/flu symptoms - but I've also had nausea, dizziness, fatigue, and some pretty horrible headaches. My jaw, also, is still pretty painful, and I hope to find out what's wrong with it in the next week (my most recent appointment was cancelled, since the dentist hadn't received information from one of my previous dentists yet). Currently I'm a black box - to both myself and to the dentist.

On the up side (or potential downside), being sick has given me a lot of idle time - which I've been using to look up all sorts of arts and crafts on the internet. I have so many things that I want to make! I want to make Tene a blanket for his birthday, and myself a blanket (our current ones, made by Tene's mother, are both reaching their last days). I also want to make myself a different blanket to take with me to lay on in parks and the like - as I hope to get out more this spring/summer than I have in the past. And a blanket or two to keep in my car.

I'm suspecting that I might end up being a quilter of some sort (I could see myself very much enjoying this), and I keep imagining us ending up with a room filled with blankets.

I've also started reading more - I fully updated my Goodreads list (removed something like 150 books from the "To Read" list), and I've set a goal to read 24 books this year. Right now I'm working on Anna Karenina, by Tolstoy. I have vague memories of seeing Anna Karenina as a ballet when I was younger. All I can really remember is the ending. So far the book has held my attention, which is good. Many classics don't.

Tonight's Dinner and Some Other Adventures

I'm hoping to start posting daily about the food I'm making for Tene and I every day. Tonight's Dinner: Steamed Artichokes, Slow-Cooker "Rotisserie" Chicken, and Baked Sweet Potatoes and Onions.


I'm quite pleased with tonight's dinner. It was filling, because I cooked a whole chicken (a bit more on that later) it has leftovers, and it was quite tasty. I'm still figuring out how to cook the sweet potatoes so that they're soft all the way through, though (they were less undercooked than the last time I made this dish).

This was also a paleo/primal dinner, which means it fit with our health goals.

I'm slowly becoming more and more accustomed to working with raw meat - particularly chicken - and specifically I'm finding it easier to work with whole poultry. Still gross, but I don't find myself hating every minute. This is a big change from making a turkey on Thanksgiving. Maybe it's in part because chicken are a lot smaller than turkey, so there was less to be grossed out by.

In other news, we're doing pretty well. Most of the news around here comes from me, in fact.

My jaw has been hurting pretty badly the last while, and has been getting increasingly worse. I'm taking the highest daily dosage allowed of naproxen sodium, which is barely helping. I went to a TMJ specialist two weeks ago, though, and he gave me an Aqualizer as a sort of diagnostic tool. Unfortunately the pain has only increased since then. I go back in tomorrow and hopefully my X-rays from a few years ago in Salt Lake will be there, and maybe we can discuss some other options of what might be causing this pain.

I also have been dealing with a cold this last week. Coughing, feeling generally down, stuffy nose, all of that. I was improving, but yesterday and today I woke up feeling worse. I'm not sure if I'm actually getting worse or not, though, and I feel (mostly) fine now.

I've fixed my laptop back up from it's Christmas misadventure - for the most part. On Christmas day I accidentally spilled hot chocolate all over my laptop keyboard (and my self, and my bed). Fortunately I acted quickly enough to save my laptop and there's not damage to the information or casing or hardware. Except for the keyboard. Even after a very thorough cleaning, some of the keys still stick. Hopefully my new keyboard will be here in a day or two, though, and all will be well.

Becoming Fit

While I'll probably be taking a break from it for a week (or two; more on that later), Tene and I have begun to do something new together.

We've signed up at a gym, and on Thursday finished our final beginners CrossFit course.

First off - I'm surprised the world still exists, since I'm pretty sure me even considering entering a gym, let alone becoming a member, is a sure sign of the apocalypse. But Planet Granite, the gym we're now members of, seems to be completely awesome. It's a climbing gym, primarily, which means there's all sorts of fun rock-towers and the like. I'm hoping to take some classes and learn how to do some rock climbing, as well as looking more into Crossfit and Yoga.

Every Tuesday and Thursday night in January, Tene and I went to the gym and worked out. We learned squats, deadlifts, back lifts, snatches ... played with kettlebells and wallball, started learning how to do pull ups (not surprisingly - I can't even get one, yet), got very acquainted with the rowing machines, etc.

For me: I feel pretty good about it. Crossfit is hard and is definitely a workout, but I've felt good when I've gone and done the workout of the day. I'll admit, the endorphins work pretty well for me for a good hour or two after coming home from the gym.

But I might be taking a break from Crossfit for a week or two - potentially longer. My TMJ is acting up again, and I'm going to attempt a liquid diet to try to help the joint heal a bit. I'm also going in and seeing a specialist, who will hopefully be able to give me some good advice.

As it is, I've taken the highest dosage of an NSAID for about a week and a half (this was a couple of weeks ago), tried to avoid hard or chewy foods for the last month, worn my splint at night ... just generally trying to do what I could to keep my jaw from getting aggravated. Nothing so far has helped for very long, and I'm in near constant pain. I don't know what my next options are - if they include surgery or something else.

So, until my jaw starts feeling better, I'm going full liquid - no more chewing for me - which means that I'm going to need to stick to very low amounts of exertion (I'm going to try to go for a walk every day, but a hard workout like Crossfit seems like a bad idea). I'm also going to talk very very minimally - thinking of going so far as buying a white board to carry around with me to communicate. Like a singer on vocal rest, I need jaw rest.

Three New Girls

Please say "hello" to the three new girls - Freya, Lilith, and Midna. They're girls from the hoarding situation that I adopted through North Star Rescue, or more accurately they're girls who were born after the rescue, from some of the numerous pregnant mothers. Judging from their size they seem to be about six weeks to two months old. As it is I'm going to give them the birth date of December 1. They're super adorable!