Surprisingly:

* Stranger than fiction isn't a really bad typical Will Ferrell movie. I actually enjoyed it.

* Avocado and Vegemite actually go well together on toast. The vegemite kind of acts in place of salt.

I'm sick again :-(

Yes for the second time this year I have a cold/virus thing. This time with non stop coughing. Last night between the hours of 2 am and 6am I couldn't stop coughing so I also couldn't sleep. It is driving me insane. My chest hurts, my throat hurts and if I could have one wish for the rest of my life it would be to never cough ever again.

I went to the doctor who basically just said drink lots of fluids. To which I replied I am but need something to stop the cough so that I can sleep at night. Only then did we talk about antihistamines. I went to the chemist only to discover that every antihistamine tablet contains lactose. Something I chose not have and that I'm also ultra sensitive to. If I have even a tiny bit of dairy in a dish I produce excess phlegm, something that I certainly don't need right now. I however finally found a cough medicine with a antihistamine in it. But by my body decided that it didn't like it so I ended up vomiting it back up.

It's not fair though. Mr T hasn't been sick once this year and we eat exactly the same things except Mr T consumes much more alcohol than me. Maybe I need to start consuming more alcohol.

I did have slightly good news though when I discovered that dark chocolate might be good for coughs.

I am a student, I just don't act like one

I had a great long weekend. Went to the St Kilda Film Festival and saw a variety of different short films, had Claire and Dave over for Mulled Wine (see the recipe below), Uno (I won!!!), and really bad dvds-I'm sorry Claire and Dave! Explored some Jewish supermarkets and found spreadable pretzels, Alpha chocolates, and vegan drumstick style ice creams. Yay for Jewish supermarkets. Sampled the famous pumpkin and polenta bread at Las Chicas which was quite disappointing. I even managed to get in time to start cleaning mould on my window and do a tiny bit of housework.

It was only when I went back to work thinking that not only did I get to do, see, and eat a lot but I also managed to be productive that I realised that with 3 full days off I did not work on my thesis even a tiny bit. That and my mother said to me 'have you finished your thesis?'. I couldn't help but laugh since I have barely started.

I've asked my work to go part time starting next semester and I have one more placement to do and I am determined to start acting more like a student and actually doing homework.

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Mulled Wine

This is so easy to make and great for the weather we are having in Melbourne at the moment. I just combined a few recipes.

750mL Bottle of red wine
4 cinnamon sticks
A pinch of cloves
2 tablespoons of grated orange rind
3/4 cup-1 cup of orange juice (I used freshly squeezed since I ran out of OJ)
1-4-1/2 cup of sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)
1/2 cup of Maple Syrup

Method:
Bring all the ingredients to a low simmer in a large pot and simmer for around ten to fifteen minutes

Strain the solids from the brew and serve in mugs with Cinnamon sticks.

Aussie veg*n food bloggers exist

I may not be a food blogger (except for my occasional food post) but I looooove my food and love food porn and veg*n food blogs almost as much. So I am very pleased to be coming across more and more Australian food veg*n blogs. If you know of any other Australian ones please let me know and I will add it to my links on the side.

Cats make you lazy

Well at least Molly does. I had today off and a few times throughout the day she felt comfortable to jump on my knee and stay there for quite some time purring away while I patted her. So when that happens I really have no choice but to continue sitting there for as long as she is my lap. We also had a little lay down on the bed. Ahhh what a life.

I'm not sure how it happened but Molly seems to be getting used to myself and Mr T. It all seems to start last night when Mr T and I went to bed and Molly crawled on to the bed and made herself very comfortable on my pillow. Mr T and I were forced to share one pillow and one side of the bed for quite some time. We patted her for so long that our arms actually started to get sore. She jumped out at some stage and I moved over but then at about 4am she was back for more of hogging my pillow but she eventually crawled on to Mr T's chest and slept for a little bit. It was so cute!

It wasn't so cute though when we awoke at about 2am to the sound of her dropping a pot plant on to the floor and then eventually awaking up to discover that she had pooed on our dishes in our sink.

But I still love her.

Now I promise I will TRY to go back to posting about other things.

For all those cat owner out there though I have a few more questions?
* why do cats repeatedly pick up the paws and push down on what they are laying on several times? I know what I mean am having trouble describing it. It's like she is trying to make my lap and the pillow more comfortable.
* how can I get her to use her litter tray?
* anyone know of any healthier litters to use? I have read that most litters are actually quite poisonous
* any humane cat food products out there?

As I am typing this she had hopped on my lap again it's hard to believe its the same cat.

Molly update

Last night after I posted the last entry, we went out to grab some food and when we returned we found Molly had moved onto the kitchen bench and when she saw us she ran to under our bed where she stayed for quite some time before a final run and plunking herself in our laundry sink. We went to bed concerned that she was choosing the coldest place to lay but decided that once we went to bed and fell asleep she might move somewhere else. We woke up super early to find her still in the sink and awake.

We have had some progress today though. This morning after I woke up I finally convinced her to eat some of her food we had put on her dish on the floor below the sink. She ate a little bit and I patted her and she started purring, and then after lots of sitting next to her and talking to her and patting she actually crawled up onto my lap where she sat for about 5 minutes. Mr T had the same thing happen but for about 20 minutes later on today but if he tried to move at all or if she heard any loud-ish noise she hopped off and either went into the corner or back into the basin. She is back in the basin now.

Thankfully Google came to rescue revealing that her behaviour is not unusual for cats who are in a new place as they tend to choose to stay in one room until they get more comfortable. I just wish she would have chosen another room so that it would be warmer for her.

Molly looking not very happy in her favourite place to lay.



Looking more comfortable on Mr T's lap.

Introducing the latest member of our household:

Molly


My grandmother passed away in Jan leaving behind 2 cats. 1 very extroverted friendly Persian and another one that is very very shy. So shy that if anyone came over to visit my grandmother she would leave the room. You can probably guess from the picture which one Molly is. We decided to take Molly since Mr T is so great with cats that we though if anyone can make her open up it would probably be him. Besides, the rest of the family are pretty allergic to cats.

I'm a little concerned though because she has come from my grandmothers big house to our tiny apartment. So we are calling it a trial, if after some time she still doesn't seem more comfortable with us or our tiny place then we will look at trying to find somewhere else for her.

Molly has been at our place for a little over 2 hours now and hasn't moved from under our kitchen trolley as seen in picture. She has however allowed Mr T to pat her under whilst under there and has been Meowing like crazy.

Any tips on making her more comfortable?