Unexpected visitor

It started last Friday.  Matt and I were hanging out in the living room after dinner, watching whatever on tv, the back door open for some air, and we heard this odd meow.  We looked at each other, "Was that one of ours?"  We didn't think much of it, since Dante occasionally sounds off.  About half an hour later, we heard it again, and when we looked, there was this big black cat standing in the dining room, looking startled.  Not one of ours.  :)

Matt got up, and the cat stood there for a bit.  He sniffed Matt's hand, then took off, running back out the door and going over the back/side fence.  The six foot concrete wall.  The thing that let me feel safe enough to let our three cats wander in the back yard unsupervised.  

The funny thing is, this guy's been back almost daily.  When he first came in the house, he was standing right beside a chair Patch was resting on, and she didn't make a sound.  She made more noise back in Ohio when the raccoon would get into Matt's room at night.  She makes grumbling growls at this guy now, though, and took a swipe at him the other day when he ran past her.  He hasn't been in the house again that we know of, but we do have a cat door that's open, so it's possible he could.  Matt thought he heard a strange chirping meow the other night, but didn't feel like getting up to see if he was in the house.

He's a very pretty cat, all black that I can see, sleek and big, like a mini-panther.  If we've been adopted by him, though, one of the first things we'll have to do is get him fixed, checked out, and vaccinated.  But he looks taken-care-of, like he belongs to someone.  The trouble with cats, unlike dogs, is that most of them don't wear collars, and don't require licenses, so there's no easy way to find out if one's a stray or just a wanderer.

I'm also afraid our cats will watch this guy hop the fence and think/realize, "Hey, I could do that!"  My babies have always been indoor cats.  We're only letting them out in the backyard because of the wall.  Patch is used to indoor/outdoor, but still, Matt's lost too many pets to vehicles to want her out there roaming around.  My cats wear collars, but I need to get them updated ID tags.  Patch is a long-haired cat, and she's worn a flea collar once, but it matted the fur around her neck.  I'd still be willing to risk that.  Or look into how much microchipping is.  But I don't know how much I trust that, how widely known it is.

I'll have to see if I can get a picture of this guy next time he's around.

Yay, finally!!

Just got back from my workout, and my heartrate actually stayed in the green the whole time!  I even did the entire 2.5 circuit!  Not sure what caused this dramatic turn, whether it was not having caffeine since Thursday, drinking a litre of water while I was there, the effects of the Singulair, or just finally getting used to the workout, but I'll take it.  

Now, if I can repeat it on Monday...

Wednesday, too, I used a different club than my regular one, since I had an opening shift and couldn't get to my  home club while it was open.  The Scottsdale club had two more machines than the Glendale club, so it was kind of nice to have some additional/different exercises available.  I might try to hit that club once or twice a month, just to mix it up.  Heartrate was a little higher there, still, but not into the purple.

I hope this trend continues.  

Four days till the official weigh/measure.  Home scale still shows 220.  I'm hoping for an inch or two lost ANYWHERE, and even just a fraction of a percent body fat lost.  Keep the expectations low, since it's only been a month.  Next month will be time to start adding dietary changes again.  Preportioning the carrots, grapes, and nuts helped, but I think we may either have to stop buying ice cream, or start weighing and preportioning it, too.  Plus, watching fiber, protein, fats, carbs and salt again.  

Suddenly, I'm very tired.  But I need to change and go to work.  I have tomorrow off; we go grocery shopping and can catch up on the week's television.  I love DVR.