Spa Day

On Sept. 21st, we enjoyed our first spa day at the Windflower Spa at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort. Going to a spa was something we had always talked about but had never actually done. Last year, my mom, sister, and grandma had given us the perfect reason to go to the spa...they bought me a gift certificate for a massage and manicure as my graduation gift.



Wanting to share this experience with Jacob, we booked his and hers massages and spent the day relaxing! It was wonderful! He received a theraputic massage and I received a signature massage. We soaked our feet in the spa, had a room service delivered lunch, and cooled off with a swim in the refreshing spa pool. It was a wonderful day and a great way to end the weekend/begin the week.

Jacob's 30!

Jacob turned 30 this past weekend (Sept. 20th). It was a little sad for him to be leaving his 20s, but overall he enjoyed his birthday. Although I had wanted to celebrate his b-day with a big bash full of family and friends, I knew he's really not into big b-day celebrations, so we kept it low key by having dinner with family at La Hacienda de Los Barrios and dessert at our house.

For dessert, the plan was to have a Cookies-n-Cream ice cream cake. He had his heart set on a spectacularly delicious all ice cream cake that had a crumbly cookie crust. Unfortunately, after coordinating with the HEB bakery for several days, I eventually discovered that his first choice would not be available. As a result, I researched the ice cream cake options available at Cold Stone, Marble Slab, and Baskin Robbins. In the end I selected a Cookies-n-Cream Ice Cream Cake from Baskin Robbins. It was delicious! And surprisingly, it was Jacob's very first BR Ice Cream Cake! Can you believe that in all his 30 years of life, he had NEVER tasted a BR ice cream cake!

After the cake he opened presents. He had requested that no one bring presents, but his family ignored his requests, which I was especially thankful for when he opened the gift from his sister which contained oatmeal raisin cookies. They were the most delicious oatmeal raisin cookies we had ever eaten.

All in all, Jacob's birthday turned out well. He enjoyed saying farewell to his 20s by relaxing, eating, and spending time with our families.

Love the litter and your cat!

Let's be frank. Crystal, our youngest cat, has litter box issues. We've tried almost everything.

We took her to the vet for an exam.



We put her on Prozac to ease her anxiety, but realized we're the type of parents who don't want our "kids" to be on drugs their entire lives.

We changed the litter to something more natural with no dust (which we loved but she hated).

We tried using a different style litter box.

We moved the box to different locations around the house.

We tried spending more time with her, but there's only so much you can do to spend quality time with a cat.

And recently we scheduled yet another appointment with the vet.



We're still waiting for our vet appointment but in the meantime we've found what we like to call a "miracle cat litter."


This weekend while we were at PetSmart examining a few more litter options, a lady approached us and said that the litter we were looking at (Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract) was wonderful. We asked her if she encountered some of the same problems we encountered and she said, "yes!" Like us, she had made numerous attempts to "fix" the problem but nothing seemed to work. Then her vet had recommended the Cat Attract litter and it worked! Based on her recommendation, we went home with the Cat Attract litter and a new litter box (one with a "sun roof"). The litter even came with a booklet that included some very good tips and coupons.


When we arrived home, we let the girls (Chloe and Crystal) explore their new litter box and sniff their new litter in the bag. After they seemed comfortable with the new box and interested in the new litter, we set the box in an appropriate location that did not make them feel "trapped in a corner" and before we knew it, both cats were fighting to use the box! Based on our cats' positive reactions to the litter, we purchased more several bags of the Cat Attract litter and another new box.

Testimonials:


Chloe: "It's so unnatural for a cat to not use the litter box. I just didn't understand it. We're supposed to be cleaner than the dog but Crystal was really making us look bad as a species. I'm so glad mom and dad finally found a litter Crystal will use."

Crystal: "I love the new litter, it doesn't smell funny and it feels great between my paws!"

Casper: "Yeah, the litter's okay, but I had more fun watching mom and dad yell at Crystal when she wouldn't use the box."

Will they ever get along?

Every now and then we have hope that Crystal (our youngest cat) and Casper (our dog) will one day be friends but then...

on days like today we can't help but wonder if they'll forever be at each other's throats.




This afternoon, while I was brushing Casper, Crystal plopped herself down right next to me and glared at Casper.

Then out of nowhere, I saw Crystal reach out a paw and slap Casper's front paws and then his face. Casper jumped up in shock. After I calmed the 2 of them down, everything seemed okay but then all of a sudden, Crystal slowly reached out another paw and slapped Casper again! I couldn't believe it! Maybe they'll be friends one day, but probably not today.