Well, it’s been a rather sad week in the 50by60 household, as one of our little cat pals, Pumpkin (full name: Pumpkin Spice) hasn’t been seen since last Friday.

Given the nature of how things work, we are hoping for the best but prepared for the worst. It is theoretically possible she is out on a spree and will just pop in the cat door some morning, because it’s happened a couple of times before, over the two years she’s been hanging out in our yard. (And before anyone asks, yes, we’ve posted missing cat listings and are checking the usual places.)

But being realists, we know that the longer she’s gone, the less likely it is that that will happen. So we’re clinging more tightly to our remaining kitty, the well-named Buddy, who has been a true pal and consented to sleep on the bed with us over the past couple of nights, as opposed to sleeping on Mr. 50by60’s favorite chair, as usual.

I’ll let you know next week if we get any news. On a brighter note, I found out I am definitely NOT addicted to Diet Coke, as mentioned in a previous post!

See, like many of you, I saw this article pop up on my news feed a couple of weeks ago, Woman Details Brutal Coke Addiction (note: I’m linking to the Unilad version so’s you don’t have to buy a subscription to the New York Times, you’re welcome!), and wondered if perhaps I, too, was addicted to The DC. So I decided to go cold turkey (hmm — would “cold soda” be a better phrase?) and went a full 7 days without touching a drop!

And found I didn’t miss the stuff at all! Even when I went grocery shopping, I passed the soda aisle with nary a thought. I did indulge in one “real” soda (Cheerwine, with genuine cane sugar, mmm!) and stocked up on sparkling water, thinking I could always mix it with some sort of flavoring if I got desperate for that carbonation thing.

But after a couple of days I found I was doing just fine drinking plain water, maybe some green tea (both decaf and caf), and a nice, strong cup of coffee in the morning. So after the 7th day, I decided to readmit the “good stuff” back into my daily rotation, just to see if I could handle it.

I had ONE can, and it was fine. I enjoyed it, but didn’t feel any need to stock up on the multiple cans and bottles I used to make special trips to 7-11 for, on my way home from my many travels.

So for me, the bottom line is, I like Diet Coke, but I don’t think I’m addicted to it. In fact, I think there’s way too much of a tendency amongst food and health bloggers to call substances they don’t approve of (like soda, sugar, etc.) “addictive,” which IMHO is kinda offensive to anyone who has a GENUINE addiction to things that are REALLY harmful to them, like, y’know, drugs, booze, etc. So maybe we need to just chill, ‘kay?

Now, on the plus side, knowing that I can take it or leave it is a good thing, because it means I can save some $$ at the grocery store, not buying so much soda, and also getting more acquainted with good stuff like tea (green or otherwise).

I also saved a couple of of the empty soda bottles, and if you’re in a place that’s super hot right now, you might like to try this: fill them with tea or coffee, add 1 teaspoon of sugar (15 calories), and put them in the fridge. After a few hours, you’ll have a yummy ice-cold cold drink (caf or decaf, your choice) with real sugar (not artificial sweetener, though please feel free to use that if you prefer!) — and it’s only 15 calories!

So there you go, some sad news, some diet tips, and hmm, seems like I forgot something … oh yeah!

205.4

That’s another thing, I definitely didn’t *lose* any weight giving up my beloved DC! All those articles about how diet soda is an “addiction” and claiming it actually makes you *gain* weight, and claiming that when they (the writer) gave it up, the pounds “just fell right off”?

And rightly so, Skeptical Cat! IMHO, anytime someone claims that their diet or health method or product uses the phrase “the pounds will fall right off,” watch out — chances are they’re after your money!!

If you’ve got pounds “falling off” rapidly, maybe see a doctor — a real one!

Anyway, even though the weight is up, I’m feeling good, other than being sad about Pumpkin. But who knows? A lot can happen in a week (as we’ve seen in the news, unfortunately!), so tune in next week and we’ll see what we can see.