C-A-T Spells Trouble

I love cats. In fact, some might say, I'm a little bit addicted to them. Whenever I see a cat, I just can't stop myself from petting it, picking it up, snuggling it. I've been cat free for a little over a year. It's been a hard adjustment and I think and talk about getting a cat on a regular basis. Clark doesn't suffer from the same tendencies as me. He once confessed to me that he derives no pleasure from associations and contacts with cats. Unfortunately, Clark lives with not only one cat lover but two. Jaron loves cats as much (or more) than me.

Since losing Cooper (our cat) in our lives I've been contemplating adding another furry friend to our lives again. Clark convinced me to wait until we moved. He is now trying to convince me to wait until after we have the baby. I'm sure once the baby is born, he'll come up with another reason to try to get me to wait. The thing is, if I really wanted to, I could have gotten another cat by now. I know full well if I went out one day with the boys and picked up a kitten and brought it home Clark wouldn't be too surprised or bothered. I've been held back by other issues.

However, I had the perfect opportunity Wednesday night to feed the cat addiction. My parents were in town and had taken us out to dinner. While some of us were finishing up, Clark was monitoring the boys by the entrance to the restaurant. I was discussing with my parents the cat issue and explaining how much Jaron loves and wants a cat. I was in the process of telling them how regularly Jaron brings up cats (he is even now pretending to be a cat by meowing). Just as I was divulging Jaron's cat desires he runs up and adamantly exclaimed, "Mommy there is a kitty. Hurry come see! Grandma come see the kitty! Grandpa come see the kitty!"

I quickly followed only to discover Jaron had spotted a kitten. A little kitten that seemed to be injured and most likely a stray. He had some sort of infection around an eye and was also limping. He was the friendliest little thing and willingly came up to me.

Of course, me being the softy I am, I immediately was concerned for this kitten. We attempted to call the shelters in the area - closed. The police station animal control - out for the evening. What to do with this kitten? I couldn't just leave it! Good thing my dad is also a cat lover and agreed with me that we shouldn't leave it.

I figured that maybe we could stop by our local fire station and they would shelter the kitten for the night. I was worried about taking the cat home; especially with how Jaron was excited about the whole thing. (It also doesn't help that one of Jaron's favorite stories currently is about a little girl finding a stray kitten and getting to keep it.)

The scene at the fire station was amusing. We determined that I was the best bet to talk to the fire fighters. I was getting pointers on gushing tears at the appropriate time. I couldn't get these guys to budge for the life of me. "Come on, you are public servants. You really should be helping the public out by sheltering this kitten for the night." No go. I laughingly threatened to call them out some night to my house at 4AM for a false fire alarm. I'm sure they thought I was crazy.

So here I am, the addict, bringing this kitten home. A blessing in disguise, that Jaron fell asleep in the car and had no clue what we had brought home. I worried about this kitten in a box in our garage and checked on it several times. My parents and Clark laughing at me. I kept wondering why we didn't just keep it. Clark's biggest defense to this question: "He's really not that cute of a cat."

However, what got me is the thought that this cat belonged to someone else and had just wandered and gotten injured. (That's what we tried to explain to Jaron about not wanting to keep it.) The next morning, we drove it over to the local shelter. I felt terrible leaving that kitten. I didn't feel entirely confident that the cat would survive the shelter, especially since one of the workers explained to me if the medical costs to patch the cat up were too expensive. I'm desperate to know what is (or will) happen. But then I wonder again, am I ready to feed this addition? I know one thing, if I'm in another situation bringing home a stray kitten, it most likely just found its new home.

What I do . . .

I've been working at my new job for a few weeks now. Working for one of those "greedy oil companies" has been an education for me. I've become more aware of many misperceptions of the general public of oil and energy in general.

Another little-known fact is that Kim loves to take online quizzes. Here is one that tests your energy IQ with 10 basic questions. It comes with this tagline:

"At a time when Americans are focusing on energy issues and policies, a survey
from API and Harris Interactive finds that most U.S. adults have a fundamental
lack of knowledge regarding energy demand and supplies and the role of America's
oil and natural gas companies. In fact, when presented with 23 multiple choice
questions, on average more than 25 percent of respondents said they were "not
sure," and in many cases people chose the response that is farthest from the
correct answer. Test your knowledge on 10 questions."

What is it that I do? I work in research and development in a group focused on developing refining technology for what is called heavy oil. Heavy oil can be derived from oil or tar sands and offers some challenges if we intend on using it in the future. It is cheaper than light crude oil and with today's high oil prices, it is becoming financially feasible to produce. There are actually large reserves of heavy oil that have not been tapped as of yet, particularly in Canada.

So as an employee of "big oil", I have been trying to educate myself more about energy in general and hope you can, too. But first, go ahead and test your energy IQ. You might be surprised by some of the answers.

Just Practicing

One of my primary concerns in buying our house was the proximity of the kids' bedrooms to ours. Actually, a majority of homes we looked at had this issue so there didn't seem to be a great solution. But, we bought the house anyway despite any misgivings. The middle of the night hike-across-the-house is annoying but not super bad. A bigger concern is safety. I have little kids so I think about these things.

While living in Madison, Clark and I spent an evening talking about safety plans. Mostly to do with how we would get the kids out of the house in the middle of the night in case of fire. It wasn't a hugely enjoyable topic. I tend to have a wild imagination (almost like Anne of Green Gables). Since being in our new home for only a month, we had yet to have the safety conversation. However, we put our skills to the test at approximately 4 AM this morning.

Clark and I were jarred out of sleep by blaring alarms going off. Instinct instantly kicked in and we out of bed running madly to the boys bedrooms. It felt strange wrenching Russell out of the crib - he was still sound asleep. I'm sure Clark felt the same way getting Jaron. We quickly exited the house, the whole time frantically wondering where a fire could be. We didn't see fire or smell smoke.

Once outside, we looked around for more signs but didn't see any. Clark was ready to go back in and check things out. In my super adrenaline high I wouldn't have anything of it. So we marched across the street and rang our neighbor's doorbell. I was intent on calling the fire department.

I have to say, we lucked out in where we bought our house. Right across the street from us is an awesome family who are members of the church. They have teenagers - so not the same stage of life. I've been grateful for their immediate, loving friendship. She has kept me sane during this change, especially from feelings of complete isolation.

Anyway, there we were, ringing their doorbell. I've never done this to a neighbor before! They both came to the door relatively soon. He determined it was most likely our security system going haywire. (Yes, there is an installed security system; it apparently doesn't work very well.) He and Clark went back over and were there a good 10 minutes trying to turn off the fire alarm. Eventually they did. We are still not sure what went wrong. We went back home and crawled back into bed. The boys easily went back to sleep. I laid there for quite awhile thinking "what-if".

I guess we just chalk that up to practice. It was still nerve-wracking. I'm so grateful that we had taken the time to plan. There was never any question in my mind who I was responsible for and what I would do in any situation. I'm glad it turned out not to be a real emergency, but if it had been, who has time for indecision or uncertainty?! So if you are reading this and don't have a plan, will you make one please. At least, talk with your spouse about how you would handle a situation. I'm so grateful we did!

Hmmmm . . .

I don't know whether to find it amusing, telling or just concerning that a Wal-mart employee openly confessed to me that she wished there were a Target in town. Amused I expressed my deep regret that Wal-mart was the only place to shop. She then proceeded to give me directions to the closest Target (about 40 minutes away). It's good to know that even their employees prefer Target!

Cinnamon Roll Pictures

We managed to snap a quick picture before they were quickly consumed.

Our two taste testers. They "helped" make the glaze.

I think the glaze met to Russell's satisfaction.

And after thoroughly stuffing themselves . . .

the boys all needed to relax.

General Conference Cinnamon Rolls

This tradition came about because Clark loves my cinnamon rolls. They actually were originally my mother's recipe but one General Conference I was home and I asked her for the recipe and she couldn't find this. Blasphemous! Anyway, Clark loves them. And well . . . I get tired of making them. So my compromise for him would be that I would make them twice a year - General Conference time. This recipes makes lots; we try to give away as much as possible and freeze the rest. (And then Clark is in heaven for a good month or so.) I wish more of you were around here so I could give some fresh cinnamon rolls to you! I guess I'll just have to meet some people this weekend. Give them a try and enjoy. Let me know if you have questions.

(Sorry no pictures, I decided to post this before I made them. I usually make them Saturday morning. Just use your imagination. If I remember tomorrow I'll take a picture and post.)

Cinnamon Rolls
1 cup softened margarine
2 ½ cups warm water
¾ cup sugar
2 Tbsp yeast
2 ½ tsp salt
4 eggs
8 – 8 ½ cups flour
¼ cup melted margarine
½ cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, margarine and eggs. Mix flour, blending well (add enough flour so that dough is elastic but not sticky). Generously grease cookie sheet. On floured surface, roll out ½ dough to 20x12 inch rectangle. Spread with ¼ cup softened margarine. In a small bowl, combined ½ cup sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon; blend well. Sprinkle over dough. Starting with 20-inch side, roll up jelly-roll fashion; pinch edges firmly to seal seams. Cut into 1 inch slices. Place cut side down in prepared pan. Cover, let rise in warm place until double. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. (Dough will keep in fridge for 7 days) Let cool slightly and top with glaze of choice.

[I grew up with the powered sugar glaze. Clark added his twist to the recipe with the cream cheese glaze/frosting (he prefers it thicker) so we've been doing the cream cheese version. Our philosophy: If you are going healthy, you might as well go all out.]

Powdered Sugar Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 Tbsp milk

In bowl, combined powdered sugar, margarine, vanilla and milk until mixture has consistency of a glaze. Makes 1 ½ cups.

Cream Cheese Glaze:
6 Tbsp butter (real)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 – 3 tsp milk
½ cream cheese (4 Tbsp) - softened

In bowl, combined powdered sugar, margarine, vanilla, milk, cream cheese until mixture has consistency of a glaze. Add more powered sugar if you desire to thicken.