The Cats are Taking Over

SItting at home drinking tea and cold water, wondering how on earth it's already 3:30pm on Sunday when you only just woke up and feel like the weekend just started. You go on Facebook in the hopes that someone else out there also believe that this whole "it's Sunday" thing is just a ruse and you actually still have the whole weekend to finish those Anth readings you never did last week. As you go through your news feed you find yourself watching cat video after cat video after cat video, and it gets you thinking... have cats really taking over?

Today we are finding more and more people who are over come with Cat-Mania. Cute cat videos cover the internet, from being posted by cat owners all over YouTube to being passed back and forth from friends via Facebook and Twitter. You see cats everywhere, as the animal of choice in memes, puns, viral videos and just about every post, tweet or status update. There are girls who are simply obsessed with their "little babies", planning play dates and birthday parties for their cat children and all their friends. And boys acting as enablers by passing along super cute videos, hilarious comic strips and asking on a daily basis "how are the girls?" But is it all getting to be a bit much? More and more single girls are showing up, claiming that they will be just fine as long as they have their cats. They stop leaving the house on the weekend, worries that their little angels will get lonely, or worse yet: throw a party while she's gone. Boys can now only make the cut if they are allergy free and understand that the cat always comes first (this means if she was sitting there first you can't move her, even if where she is sitting is on your lap). All these ladies believe that the cat is helping them in their endeavour to find the elusive "One", simply their to give moral support and company. But is this really the case?

Now I'm not one to judge, I have definitely succumbed to this cat fad, having two baby girls of my own. Yet there comes a time in every young girls life when she asks herself, "Am I a Cat Lady?"

Well, maybe. Here a few questions you can ask yourself to help you understand just where the line is drawn between someone who likes cats, and someone who is crazy.

1. Do you have 3+ cats?
2. Do your cats sleep in your bed?
3. Do you live by yourself? (Apart from your cats...)
4. Do you refer to your cats as children, roommates, or "loves"?
5. When on the phone do you find yourself saying "Oh! (Insert cat's name here) says hi!"
6. Do you plan birthday parties and/or play dates for your cats?
7. Do you take family photos with your cats and/or dress them up for photo shoots or special occasions?
8. When you see your friends, instead of asking how you are do they ask how your cats are doing?
9. Does every single one of your posts, tweets, status updates etc. have to do with cats?
10. Do you refer to yourself as a "we"? (You and your cats - "Oh, I'm not sure what WE are doing tonight..."
11. When at parties, get togethers or just visiting friends, do you find yourself spending more time with the local cat than the other humans present?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions then the answer is yes, you are a crazy cat lady. So it's time to stop fighting it and start embracing it. Drink more tea, knit often, buy your cats cute sweaters and mittens, and come to terms with the fact you are most likely going to be alone with your cats for many years to come. 

Good Luck!

Homemade Awesomeness

So there you are, sitting at home, drinking tea, pretending to finish your anthropology readings while the Big Band Theory plays in the background. The readings are boring, not really relevant to the class, and above all written by some snooty dead guy who obviously thought what he had to say trumped everyone else. You think to yourself "Wow, this is so boring. I wonder what I could do to make it better?" And then it hits you. Food. Fatty, greasy, million calorie so not good for you food. Poutine, French Fries, (and for you meat eaters out there) Burgers and Chicken McNuggets. So you start thinking about the closet place you could go to quench your cravings. McDonalds is a whole four blocks away. La Bell Province is three. Then there's that burger joint right under your apartment. Poutine and a can of diet coke for only 5.75$, you could swing that. But then you look outside and remember that it's minus a billion outside and you don't have socks on. As soon as this comes to the front of your head your laziness kicks in. No way are you getting up and putting on socks just to go down a flight of stairs to get some poutine. That is WAY too much work. 

Now you're hungry. You kinda got your hopes up when you remember the burger place downstairs. So you mentally go through all the for in your fridge and cupboards: broccoli, carrots, yogurt, soy milk, noodles, some pasta sauce, and porridge. Euh. Now that simply will not do. And then you remember, those delicious potatoes that have got you through so much, the good times, the bad times, holidays and family dinners. They have always been therefore you. 

So what do you make with these delicious potatoes that have been there through the thick and thin? You make french fries. Oh baby. 

So here is how you do it:

Homemade Awesomeness (French Fries Fantastique!)

You will need:

1. 2 medium potatoes, or 3-4 small ones (a good portion of fries)
2. Vegetable oil
3. Salt
4. A large bowl
5. A cookie sheet

Start by cutting your potatoes into wedges (or classic french fry style in you prefer). Remember when cutting that the thinner they are, the crunchier they will be - I like mine super crunchy by some prefer just a nice cooked feeling. When all your potatoes are cut put them in your bowl, fill it up with water and add some salt (somewhere between a teaspoon and table spoon, just go with what feels right). Stir it up a little bit to help the salt dissolve. Let the potatoes sit in the water for anywhere from 30min to an hour. Doing this pulls the starch out of the potatoes, a little bit healthier for the young budding student  (who ate nothing for breakfast and pizza for lunch). It's best if they can sit for the full hour, but i realize you are hungry NOW. So half an hour should suffice. Now is also a good time to preheat the oven, 425ºF should do it. 

Once your potatoes are done their bath, rinse them off with some fresh water and get out your cookie sheet. If you have cooking spray you can spray the sheet, if not just pour a little vegetable oil on it and spread it around. Add your potatoes, a little vegetable oil on top and some salt. Stick them in the over for 12-15min, check them after about 10 to see how there doing. After your first 12 or 15 take them out, flip em' over, maybe add a little salt to that side (not too much) and stick em' back in for another 12-15min. 

When the timer goes then Voila! Delicious Homemade Awesomeness to help you get through those dreadful readings. These potato wedges are also delicious is you have some good seasoning. 

Enjoy!

Drinking Tea Too Late At Night

So there is is. I love tea. So much that I tend to drink it almost unconsciously throughout the day. You might say "Eh, that's not so bad. Tea is delicious after all". Well, you would be right. However drinking tea as the night goes on does tend to have it's downsides. For instance: Being so sleepy you think your eyes are about to fall out, yet unable to get to that wonderful dream land that lies beyond your pillow.  Darn caffein. Once this state of mind kicks in, there you are watching Criminal Mind reruns, scouring the internet for a new cute cat video, all the while drinking more tea because you think that there might be a slim chance this one will over power all those that came before and help you get to bed. 

Looking at my beautiful baby girls sleeping on the couch beside me and all I can think about is how lucky they are to be able to sleep for 16 hours a day. Falling asleep seconds after they get comfy, and able to be awake and playing as soon as one of them decides that the game has begun. Unlike us: taking forever to get to sleep, each with our own little routine  - reading, stretching, facebooking, watching crappy television. Then the morning rolls around far too soon and we need all kinds of aids to be able to face the world. We take showers, drink coffee (or tea), eat breakfast, don't eat breakfast, maybe go to the gym. 

If only my life was as simple as a Cat's. 

But atlas, it is not. And thus I am still ever so susceptible to my deceptive friend Earl Gray, oh so delicious and dangerous at the same time. So here I sit, with my girls, cozy slippers, criminal mind reruns, and luke warm tea, thinking that this is indeed perfection.