The Boys Being Cute

Wow! It's been longer than I thought since my last post... Sorry about that. I worked 10-7:30 last week and it totally wore me out!!! My manager doesn't give out the next week's schedule until the weekend before so it makes planning things difficult. For example, I still don't have my schedule for the upcoming week so I have no idea how many hours I'll be working or on which days. It's more than a little frustrating. But I digress. This is supposed to be a cute post, dammit! So here goes.*

First, we have Funk. Many mornings when I wake up, I see a big, black puppy laying in his bed. Notice I said laying, not sleeping. Funk's bed is on my side of the bed and when he thinks I'm awake but isn't sure I'm going to get all the way up, he just wags his tail. He doesn't commit to actually getting out of his bed until he's sure I'm really, truly going to get up (and pet him). One morning I teased him by whispering to test his commitment to the stay-down and he didn't disappoint:

He's so cute I can barely stand it! And even though Linguini is generally a butthead he, too, has a cute habit that I caught on film. Those of you that have visited Casa de Mac may have noticed that our doors all look like crap. But our bathroom door is especially sad, and for some reason the previous owners shortened it so the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor is abnormally large. (Not creepy Peeping Tom large but larger than normal.) Every night, Linguini likes to thrust his paw through the gap and try and nab my feet. I think he plays the game with Robert, too, but he really likes socks and Robert rarely wears socks so my feet are way more tempting. :o) It is TOO CUTE to see the little pink-padded paw reach out and try to grab my toes, I love it! My nighttime routine has gotten a bit longer to include ample play time but since Gweenz doesn't have much that he seems to enjoy with his people, I will play as long as he wants. (If he gets a good grip on my sock, I'll slip it down to about mid-foot and let him pull it off. He still likes to play after he conquers the sock but he definitely doesn't play as long with bare feet.)

* Clearly, I suffer from VVS. I'll try to work on that in the future.

Ask Me About Periodontal Disease

Woohoo! I unexpectedly kicked my recent Dentistry midterm's ASS so I thought I'd share my fantabulous score with y'all. (We're not allowed to take our exams home so I had to snap some quick pics of my grade.) This is my first - and I expect only - 100% on an exam. I'll take it!! :D

In case you can't read that it says "One of the best essays!" And on the aforementioned periodontal disease, no less.

And, just for fun because I thought this was a cute picture, here are Linguini and I lounging on the bed. He's actually getting a little nicer!

A Box of Babies

My friend Amy sent me this photo last week and I had to share. It was on her clinic's doorstep where the box of his litter was left and this is the very first picture of little Gweenz on his first day in the clinic. I think I've said before that I'm glad whoever did this opted to dump the kittens at a place that would try and help them rather than just dispose of them in a less savory way but still... How can people DO things like this? That is a box of adorableness right there! And even though Gweenie has turned out to be somewhat of a dick less than cuddly/friendly guy, I'm glad he had the good fortune to land at Princeton and then our home.

A Lighter Linguini

Poor little Linguini got neutered a little over a week ago and the only way you can tell is he's a little less pissy about and a little more tolerant of being loved on. He was a punk at the vet's office, though, and when I picked him up I was told that "none of the staff were injured, so that's good." When people have to specify that your cat didn't maim them - and that that is the only positive of his visit - it doesn't make you feel too warm or fuzzy. :o/ But, the pom-poms are gone and the Gweenz was up and running after only one night of feeling slightly droopy.

Right before we headed into the vet clinic.

He only wore the Cone of Shame the first night.

Feeling better.

In fact, I wonder if now that he's pakcing a little less, it's making it a little easier to get into things he shouldn't:

Laser Pointers: Not Just For Kitties

I tried playing with Linguini the other night while Garfunkel was resting. I don't think Linguini got much out of it.

Wrestling: Funk vs. Gweenz

Linguini and Garfunkel have definitely been getting along better since my last post. They're not BFF or anything but they have gotten to the point where they more than tolerate each other - sometimes, they even play together. Which is nice on those nights I'd rather eat my dinner than throw the one-legged hippo 4,000 times. :o) I caught them in the act the other day and started snapping away. Here's a little taste of Funk vs. Gweenz: The Smackdown.

There was no clear victor.




And as another example of their growing togetherness, here's a picture I took when someone thought I was taking too long getting his dinner ready. He's very lucky Funk's a good sharer.

The Gweeners

I have been a neglectful cat owner. By this stage of his time with us Garfunkel had gads of posts on the blog and poor Linguini has only four. I have been taking lots of photos; I just haven't taken the time to post them. See? Neglectful. Well, that all changes today! Revel in the following photos of Linguini in all his glory!!

Napping with Funk. They don't do this as often as you'd think.

The first and only time he slept in his own bed.

Chin strap!

"Oh, well, hello there! You would... like me to move?"

The boys relaxing on the couch.

He slept with his head up as long as he could... Then it just flopped over.

He LOVES to sleep on my shoes. No idea why.

"Peek-a-boo!" I see you. :o)

Hangin' on the back of the couch.

Modeling his new tag.

Cat Tree

Robert had been project-less for some time when a perfect opportunity presented itself: a cat tree for Linguini. Robert got the idea almost as soon as we brought Linguini home and was chomping at the bit to get started for days. So, he hopped on the Web to do some research before charting out a plan.

Linguini was keen to help.

This was the first draft, if you will, and Linguini was quick to check it out.

He seemed to like it pretty well.

But he liked the improved version even more.

The cat tree turned out to be an excellent way to use our leftover carpet pieces. Unfortunately for my nose, however, Robert also used oodles of sisal rope. I understand that it's necessary for the claws and the scratching and blah blah blah but it smells like burning tires and my nose is a most unhappy protuberance. Robert didn't (and still doesn't - he's a robot!) notice the smell but he still wasn't a fan of working with it.

"I hate this rooooooooope!!!!"

This was the first time Gweenz climbed up to the top by himself and Robert was tickled pink.

He seemed to find the rest of it to his liking, too. :o)

It took longer to complete than Robert would have liked but since he was only ever really able to work on it on weekends, I think he did it pretty quickly. He is his own harshest critic.

Here is the finished product. Gorgeous!!!

I think Robert should whip some more up and sell'em. He's quite the craftsman!

The Three Amigos

Well, sort of. Quigley and Linguini got off to a bit of a rocky start but by the end of the day everyone was okay sharing the couch. :o)

Caught in the act!