Jail Break

I knew this day would come. My cat has figured out the dog door.

I did a lot of research last fall on dog doors, hoping to find the perfect one. I had my heart set for awhile on an infrared door that opens when a digital code is transmitted from a device attached to a dog's collar. The concept seemed popular among other indoor-cat owners. However, I could not find a single good review for this door. But I found my fill of criticisms. A lot of people reported the door fell apart after only a few months. Sometimes the door would open even if the dog just walked near it. Even more often, though, dogs would try to barrel through the thing so fast the transmitter couldn't send its little digital message to the door fast enough. And so, many a dog ended up clobbering its head against the hard plastic flap (which, knowing Jonas, wouldn't really be an issue. Our mutt feels no pain). Despite the door's good intentions, I even found a review relaying how a dog fell asleep next to the door, allowing the cat to come and go as it pleased.

Unhappy infrared door owners frequently ended their tirades by wishing they had just invested in an electronic dog door. So I investigated that possibility for about five seconds - the time it took me to find the price. Keep in mind we'd recently dumped our entire savings into the down payment of our house. And several reviews showed that door also had problems.

Those two varieties of dog door were the only ones designed to keep indoor cats indoors while allowing a dog free range. It was obvious, then, that we'd have to settle on a standard dog door and install it in the laundry room, which we could close off when the dog door wasn't needed. I soon learned, though, that 99.9% of standard dog doors also had made more than just a few pet owners very, very unhappy.

Then I found this bad boy, which we fondly refer to as "the toilet seat." I couldn't find a single bad review about this door. In fact, I couldn't find any reviews. I took that as a good sign - it hadn't annoyed anyone enough for them to take the time to write a complaint.

What makes it so great is not the fact that it can be locked (which I never do - that just seems cruel, even if my dog does have a thick skull) but that it's a hard rather than soft plastic flap. So it's more difficult for an animal smaller than Jonas to push through. And it's weather proof for all those cold Alabama nights.

Still, I knew it would only be a matter of time before Mazzy would figure it out. She's a smart one. She knows she's not supposed to get on the dining room table but that if the lights are out and we're not around then it's apparently okay. She knows that when I pull a spoon out of the drawer on Sunday night it's time for her to get her weekly tuna. And she knows that if she pushes her empty water bowl around on the tiled bathroom floor then I'll come refill it. On a side note, I wasn't at all worried that my other cat Callie would figure out the dog door. She's content just sitting in the bathroom sink all day under a drippy faucet.

A few weeks ago I called Mazzy for her Sunday-night tuna and she did not come. David automatically looked outside and saw her sitting in the mulch under the crepe myrtle. I stepped outside, she saw the tuna spoon in my hand, and she made a b-line toward the dog door, which she jumped through as if she'd been using it for years. I couldn't really be mad at her. I never told her directly she couldn't use the dog door. And she knows she isn't allowed to go through the human door.

Since then it's been kind of annoying having to keep the interior door of the laundry room constantly shut. Every time Jonas has to go out, we have to get up and open the door for him. It's like not having a dog door at all. I tried to train Mazzy one afternoon that using the dog door was bad by sitting outside with the hose, waiting for her to come exploring. But she just sat in the window watching me.

Mazzy seemed to lose interest, however, so we slowly got back into the habit of leaving the laundry room door open again. We figured that if she did get out there would be no way she'd ever get over our 4-foot picket fence. She can't even clear the small gate we put up inside the house to keep Jonas out of the back room (she's a bit back-heavy). This past week or so has been back to normal, and I haven't had to worry about my declawed cat making a great escape. But like I said, she's smart. And she had a plan.

Last night I was preoccupied with a home improvement project and didn't even notice her slip out. But, being Sunday, it came time to call her for tuna time. But again, she didn't come. I spent about half an hour scouring the neighborhood for her after finding she was not in our yard. It was about 10 p.m. and I was starting to get a little worried as my flashlight batteries were getting low. Finally, I heard her crying and the flashlight caught her two green eyes in our neighbors' yard. She ran up to me, I picked her up, and she clung to me, purring while her little heart beat fast. She never does that. Whenever I hold her she squirms to get away. I was relieved and felt sorry for her, so I didn't scold her. I gave her tuna and some love. And I shut the laundry room door. She spent the rest of the night pawing at it and telling me that she wanted to go back out. The cylon plan makes more sense than hers.

Mazzy now wears her collar. The tag has an outdated phone number on it, so I taped a hand-written (and yes, temporary) note to it that reads, "I'm an indoor kitty! If found please call home!" I think she has a microchip in her future. Oh, and maybe one of these.

I'll be back soon. Gotta go let the dog out.

My To-Do Lists

I love lists. I am constantly making them. Lists of groceries we need, lists of things to do at work, lists of things to do at home.

No, wait - I hate lists. It's nice having a full fridge and pantry. And just listen to some of the things on my to-do lists. For work, I have to update addresses in a database, mail out some invoices, and file away a bunch of paperwork. At home, I have to call the plumber, rollover my 401K, and clean out the bathroom cabinet.

I get bored just thinking about all the things I have to do. Still, I feel constantly compelled to make lists.

I think I just get a kick out of those teeny tiny bursts of joy I feel when I put a check mark next to an item on a list. But what kind of a life is one spent checking off chores and work orders from a list? Time goes by fast, and when I'm old and looking back on my life's accomplishments I want to be able to say I did more than laundry, closet organization and database entry.

That's why I have another list. A fun list. It's a list of things I want to try, to do or to learn. Things like write a book, make painting a hobby, and travel the world. There's also some personal improvement goals on the list, like exercising and eating healthier, but working on those tasks has introduced me to things I've really come to enjoy, like yoga, rollerblading, and spinach salads with strawberries, pecans and Gorgonzola.

I've always carried such a list around with me in my head. Occasionally I'd write down the things I really wanted to do in a journal I'd never open again. Then, just over a year ago, I chanced upon a book that has helped me to not only list the things I want to do but to take steps to do them. Voila! More lists! The Girl Scout in me was especially drawn to this book, which is called (yes, I know it's cheesy) "You Can Do It! The Merit Badge Handbook for Grown-Up Girls." It included badges like "learn how to knit," "build a website," and "travel the world," but it also had some wild ideas I'd never thought about. Like start a rock band. Fly a plane. Open your own business. Walk on fire (yes, walk on fire - hot coals, actually).

It wasn't until after I'd checked out a few of the entries and started to build my list that I read about the author, Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas. She was one of those "live life to the fullest" kind of women. She was dedicated to mastering new skills, loved the outdoors, and celebrated her 30th birthday by learning to sky dive. She started to write this book with the hopes of encouraging other women to achieve their goals and realize their dreams as well. She died September 11th aboard United Airlines Flight 93. After her death, her two sisters picked up where she left off and completed the book. I highly recommend it to any of you (guys, I won't tell). Proceeds from the book support charitable causes of interest to Lauren, such as college scholarships, a neonatal unit at a Texas children's hospital, and a shelter for abused women and children.

And now, it's time to share with you some highlights of my ultimate to-do list:

1. Travel (halfway done - just need to GO to Prague!)
2. Fire walking (it just had to make the list)
3. Champion a cause/activism
4. Be an author (the blog's helping - but I hope to have some short stories ready for you soon)
5. Redo a room (goodbye dingy laundry room)
6. Learn a new language (I've been working on Brazilian Portuguese for a couple years. But really should learn some German and Czech in the coming weeks...)
7. Play an instrument (friend Greg's planning on giving me trumpet lessons soon)
8. Home maintenance
9. Art appreciation
10. Gardening
11. Entertaining
12. Make your own badge (oh, the possibilities...)

Completed thus far:
1. Budgeting
2. Yoga
3. Become well-read (a big accomplishment for me, who normally reads maybe a book a year)
4. Knitting (which I learned after two scarves just isn't my thing)
5. Painting (some friends and I meet once a week now to create masterpieces)
6. Fitness and nutrition

So...what's on your list?

Prague or Bust

In 38 days, David and I will be on a plane, heading toward a destination we've talked about visiting since before we were married. David has dreamed of visiting Prague for even longer than that. So nearly a year ago, we decided to set a date. At the time, we were still getting settled in Birmingham. David had just started a job in a new industry, I was still looking for work, and we were squatting with relatives. What better time to plan a European vacation? But here we are, 10 months later. In that time we've gotten out of debt, bought a home (aka gotten back into debt), I got a job as David grew more comfortable in his, and we raised enough money for our dream vacation. How exhausting! But we're very excited. We've got our plane tickets and the start of an itinerary. We leave May 11 and fly into Paris, where we will meet my dear friend Alexia. The next day will be spent recovering from jet lag, sipping coffee at a cafe, and hopefully having dinner with Alexia's parents and brother - my French family whom I have not seen in nearly a decade. Hopefully I can also meet my French brother's new wife! On Sunday David, Alexia and I will hop a train and head toward Germany. The current plan is to spend the night in Bamberg, a small town north of Nuremberg that was reportedly unscathed by the World Wars. It also reportedly is famous for smoked beer. Finally, we'll take another train to Prague. There's so much we want to see, but instead of boring all of you now with what we want to see I'll bore you later with the details of what we actually did see. Don't worry, Mom, I'll try to resist recording every moment of this trip, like what I ate for breakfast. Unless, of course, the breakfast is really, really good.