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January 13, 2006
Pet Sitting, Running, Cat Nutrition?
Running has been slowly becoming fun again. That makes me very happy!!! My personal happiness is first right now, although this morning I don't feel that way (to be explained later), and so running is falling into the second slot because it helps the first slot- personal happiness. I am participating in a race tomorrow, regardless of the pouring rain. I asked my mom to go to it with me and am actually looking forward to going to it. I know that it will not be a "race" for me- i have been running on and off again, but it will be good to participate and get the ball rolling again. I just need to get there and build on that experience because i am a competitive person and it will piss me off/motivate me to get my butt kicked by people who have no business running slow runs with me :) It won't be a confidence booster, except that I know that, am not approaching it as a race and expect to finish and that's all. So, getting there is the confidence booster.
I ran for about 40 minutes plus the past two days. yesterday, i got a massage that felt great! i ran afterwards and my hams were still a little tight. it's ok- they will get better. i started the run on an uphill, so that wasn't the best way to start. i am looking forward to more structured running, which will start on sunday. so, hopefully, my running part of this blog will get very exciting :)
i have a TON of pet sitting coming up. there is a huge market for it. my "regular" client , and friend, is going away for over 2 weeks in february, so that should be fun to hang out at her place. i love it there and the dog, ivan, has gotten so much better. it's fun running from there- im still hopeful that we won't have any snow, like now! Maine and no snow on January 13th- friday the 13th- yikes! anyway, i also have a few other jobs- one for these people i met through a mutual friend of one of my best friends and a cat sitting job for a complete stranger- i put an ad. it was weird having to give a "reference" for a cat sitting job! but, i totally understand. who would trust a complete stranger? ivan's mom has had me in her house several times and knows that im "safe" ,so i think that the cat owner is okay with me staying in her house. i am really thinking that i need to advertise better. i am almost full for the month of february and have barely advertised at all. this could be a great thing for when i am going to school. next year will be getting more science classes so that i can get into grad school- maybe somewhere else? but, for next year, i'll be here. but, back to this year....
my mom was wondering about how many calories our cats need. she put them on a "diet" this summer and started to feed them more dry food than wet. I found a website that says cats need 30-35 calories per pound of body weight ( i was giggling while reading this to her). we have two cats between 15-17 pounds. when i was looking for the calorie count of wet and dry food, i read to her that dry cat food has between 300-400 calories per cup. the look on her face was priceless. she thought she was doing them a "favor" not letting them have as much wet food, but the wet food is about 100 per can. who knew that there is such info about CAT NUTRITION! i am still laughing about it!
i am a little angry with myself right now. i have a hard time saying no to people because i feel mean. well, i have a friend who asked me to put posters up for her, and while she pays me, it is more of a pain in the butt than it's worth. BUT, i said yes. i also said yes 5 other times in less than a week to people. and, now, i have to back out of some things because it's not good for me. one thing that i have found is that i must have a kind face or something because people who are "hurting" generally ask me for "things". i don't mind helping people, and will help anyone, just about. my friend t the other night walked me back to my car, stating "i don't trust that you;re not going to end up helping someone and getting yourself into god knows what!" but, since i have been going to these "group" things, i have realized that i misread men. i think that when someone in a group asks for your phone number or asks to meet to talk about something, it's because they need someone to talk to, not because they "like" you. my male friends continue to tell me i am wrong. and, the added thing is that these men have issues they are dealing with and i cannot help them- right now i can only help myself. sooooo, i have to try to explain that i just cannot meet to talk about legislation to do with depression or go to a movie- it's not helpful to feel pressure from these men. part of me feels mean, part feels like maybe they just need a friend, but i just cannot be that shoulder right now. im trying to get myself well/ better/ and even happier and i cannot be sucked dry, as i usually let myself. so, it's going to be hard to say no to some things. but, if i don't start, im right back to square one. and, i will help people- just not to my detriment. im not sure if im making sense, so i'll end the ramble. happy running. im off to back out of some things:)
Posted by lilly at January 13, 2006 09:34 AM
Comments
hey lilly! you are making perfect sense in your blog. it is very hard to say "no" to people, especially when you are so motivated to help others because you can truly empathize with them. but it's so awesome that you are able to recognize that you need to create boundaries for yourself right now and really nurture your own health and happiness.
good luck in the race - please let us know how it goes!!!!
Posted by: bridget at January 13, 2006 10:25 AM