Am I the type of person that owns a juicer?

“It is well for the heart to be naive and for the mind not to be.” - Anatole France

I feel like I have a mind that doesn't stop. It is always thinking, analyzing, planning and this surprisingly can lead to less action than just doing. This past month though, things have quieted down, I don't feel any real stress and have been able to focus more on big picture thoughts and plans. I like to use times like this to pick up new hobbies and start focusing on things I have been neglecting. So I'm running each day despite how cold it is, getting back to my guitar lessons, training my dog and trying to eat a little bit better. I have other hobbies I'd like to focus on more again as well, like golf, dancing and rock climbing, but I find if I try too much at once, it is easier to get discouraged.

Over a year ago, my friend Oscar told me about wheatgrass and how nutritional he thought it was. I had heard other people talk about how good it was, like Christina, but it just wasn't something I was that interested in at the time. While I was reading Born to Run, wheatgrass was mentioned again when talking about ultra marathoners, so I decided to buy it in powder form to try it out. I took it in the morning before work the first time and I found that I had a lot more energy than I normally have. This alone makes it worth the trouble because I don't drink coffee and I always feel sluggish until about 11am and have always wanted a pick me up. Being happy with the powder, I decided that it was time to move up to the real thing. I wasn't ready to start growing it yet, but I wanted to try the actual grass, so I purchased a plat of wheatgrass from a local produce company and ordered a juicer. I tend to really involve myself in my projects.


This picture is what the juicer I ordered should have kind of looked like, but the wrong one came in. It was a cheap plastic one that just seemed like more trouble than it was worth. I tried it out and made my first wheatgrass shot. It wasn't as bad as I imagined, but it did not have the nectar of gods type taste one would hope. Maybe it helped that as a kid I used to gnaw on grass every now and then. It took a long time though and I decided to order a real, better electric juicer to see if that works. It is a work in progress. Here is a picture of the wheatgrass I'm working on.
Now I will admit that after reading up about wheatgrass on the internet, it sounds like people really overstate its benefits. The good thing is that it isn't bad for me and any placebo effect is always welcomed with anything I try. It has helped knock one coke off my usual routine which is a big deal for me. Ok, well I'm done with this for now, I'm sure I'll have an update later, or I'll just forget about all this and never mention it again. It is not magic, but it is better than what I was I eating before.


In other news, I took my cat Koki to the vet last Friday. I feel like I have had a lot of vet stories recently, and I know it isn't real exciting, but I'm not used to taking pets to the vet. I've had Koki for most of my adult life and anyone that knows her knows that I take good care of her. It started when Koki was sneezing, so I figured it would be a good time to take her in and get a follow up on the tests they ran on her last time. The sneezing wasn't a big deal like I suspected and was only a cold, something she has never had and now all my cats have. The bad news from her tests was that Koki might be having liver failure and her urine shows that she is dehydrated and is still not getting enough water. I have 3 water stations set up and 2 extra full water bowls and I have never seen Koki take a sip. That worries me. I was told to monitor her and take her back in if there were any problems. I have started adding water to her "prescription" wet cat food in hopes that she will get some water, but that isn't a real solution. How can an animal dehydrate itself to death? I'm going to try not to worry too much, but it is hard not to. She seems fine to me, so other than the new steps I'm taking, I'm just going to treat her like she is fine for the time being. She hasn't peed on my sheets in some time which is a great news, but I did catch her peeing on dirty laundry the other day. I read that that means that she is stressed. She has always hated her litter though no matter how many different types I try.


Speaking of pets, I've been working a lot with my dog Chloe on getting her trained. I'm watching a video course on how best to do it. She is so hyper that it is a challenge, but it also means that without training, she won't be able to have as much freedom as I want for her. Our runs each day she enjoys, but she clearly wants a lot more. I worry that I'm doing some things wrong and being that they are counterproductive, its not helping the dog, but I am trying the best I can. She is a really good dog.

You know, if you read all that, thanks, cause I am not one that enjoys reading about other people's pets, and I know they are like dreams and kids, "only interesting to the person that had them."

I read this article the other day on factors that contribute to a successful marriage. I find this topic so interesting even though I'm not even sure where I stand on the topic and it has no relation to my current life. So here is what I learned:

Among the factors that contribute to marriage success: making $50,000 or more annually--as opposed to under $25,000. Those who do experience a 30 percent drop in the risk of divorce. People with college degrees enjoy another 25 percent decrease. Coming from an intact home decreases the risk by 14 percent. Other factors that affect marital success for the better: waiting to have kids until after tying the knot, and having a religious affiliation of some kind.

Looks like I'm in good shape, except for that religious affiliation part. Now if you avoid marriage, you avoid divorce completely. Then again, Divorce And Health: Splits Make Men Fitter, Women Fatter. That sucks for women, but I always view divorces as women wanting to get out of an unhappy situation, so I don't really get the getting fatter part.


I also recently came across this blog which had me laughing most of the day. I mention it today because of all the pet talk. It is called Cat Versus Human Here are some of my favorite examples of the types of comics it has.

My cats sometimes sleep on my bed, but I don't like it when the person I'm dating has animals that sleep in the bed. Double standard, maybe.


Maddie loves laying on top of laptops and Koki likes getting in front of the computer. That and books I am reading. This was hard during law school when I didn't need much distraction.

This reminds me of Chloe, my puppy. Such a great site I tell you. I can't help it, they are so good, here is my last one.

I lock my cats out sometimes and I know what this is like.
(all comics are linked directly from the site and are of course not my property.)

A wintertime visit