Have A Little Faith In Me

For my birthday, my BFF put a book on my Kindle called "Mr. Churchill's Secretary." She described it to me as "WW II Nancy Drew battles Nazis" -- so what's not to like? And I have to say so far, I am not disappointed. It is a delicious read. So delicious, in fact, that I got up before 6am this morning to feed the cats (what I like to call "doing the cat rodeo") make a cup of tea and return to be to indulge myself in another chapter. Of course, I am fascinated enough with the deliciousness of the book that I've been doing a little research about the author -- Susan Elia MacNeal -- who it turns out is a total smarty pants who has a wonderful literate education -- so it's no wonder that she's created such a delightful book. And a brief peek at her blog lead me to believe that she is a kindred spirit. Especially when it comes to matters most feline. No need to wonder what I'll be doing tomorrow morning before dawn. No calls please, I'm reading...

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream

Spinnin' Wheels Gotta Go 'Round

The Handsomest Man Alive and I have agreed after much discussion and gnashing of teeth that we both need to involve ourselves in a diet and exercise regimen. The parameters of our individual diet and exercise programs have not been hammered out, but I'm hoping that it will not be this laugh out-loud funny to onlookers. I also hope that if I'm caught on videotape doing any sort of atheletic activity that the music is the theme to "Chariots of Fire" and not this crazy surfer guitar. Who can maintain their dignity with that soundtrack?

Can I bring you a pie?

This article in the New York Times yesterday tickled my funnybone. After a bank robbery in the Midwest, one of the locals called the bank manager and asked if he wanted a pie. If you're from the Midwest then you understand that the offer of food during times of greatest strife is de rigueur.

When my dad died my mom and I both morbidly agreed that the only pleasant effect would be the possibility that we would both shed a few pounds in our grief. We never anticipated that our neighbors, family and friends would appear on our doorstep laden with hams, potatoes au gratin, cookies, brownies, and I'm certain though I can't remember clearly...pie. Needless to say, I'm still trying to lose the weight I gained after my dad's death twenty years ago.

To this day, when I hear that someone has been struggling with a health issue or a death in the family, my first thought is of food. The recipe file that I have trapped in my demented little mind flips open and I start to tick off what kind of casserole would be most comforting. You can take the girl out of the Midwest...but you really can't take the Midwest out of the girl.

• Crazy cat ladies of the world, unite! You have not been forgotten by the Internets. It may not be as popular (yet) as the Shiba Inu puppy cam...but the new live kitten cam is up and running for your viewing pleasure.

• Michael Jackson's Thriller music video is being turned into a Broadway musical. Please insert a snarky and ironic comic comment here. I can't think of one.

• And by the way, please check out the new book chick at the LA Examiner. She may look a bit familiar.

One Of A Kind Love Affair

One little rat has found a very strange bedfellow. It's not hard to understand. Sometimes you just can't help who you fall in love with, but can't you just hear this little rat's therapist?

"What's wrong with you? Why are you in love with someone so dangerous? That cat won't just break your heart. It could kill you!"

Fasten Your Seatbelts...It's Going To Be A Bumpy Night

If asked to come up with a one-word summation of 2008, I would have to say, "Bumpy." 2008 was full of surprises, unfortunately so many of them were disappointments. I am, however, most grateful to have my health and be gainfully employed going into the new year. In order to create a new world order for the year of 2009 that will dawn on the morrow, I have taken to repeating a one-word mantra for the New Year.

Bliss.

It is my hope for the new year.

Bliss.

It's a lovely word, isn't it? Saying it is almost as good as taking a spa vacation. It trips over the tongue as deliciously as a chocolate truffle. I've been silently repeating it over and over in great hopes that I will be able to manifest a "blissful" new year. You too should find one-word mantra of your very own to help guide you into 2009. I'd love to know what your word is. Please let me know.

• Don't try to fool me. I know you got a copy of "Dewey the small-town library cat who touched the world" about the life and times of Dewey Readmore Books in your Christmas stocking. I'm certain that you haven't been able to put it down since then, but to shuffle into the kitchen to make a cup of herbal spiced tea. Well, listen up fans of Dewey, the word on the street is that librarian and best-selling author Vicky Myron has adopted a new kitten -- appropriately named Page. Photographic proof available here.

• Continuing on the same theme...here's another cat who was in the news in 2008. Check out the photos of Frankie the cat burglar. He has no remorse about his crimes. None whatsoever.

• What's up with the chick flick? It's always been my favorite genre. Why is Hollywood trying so hard to harsh on my buzz?

• Do you remember when it was cool to be a tomboy? Nowadays everyone just assumes being a tomboy is the same as lesbian. It's really too bad.

Editor's Note: Today's "blissful" woodland scene is brought to you by the Handsomest Man Alive whose plans to travel back to sunny Southern California for New Year's Eve have been changed by a snowstorm in the Northeast. Falling snow is so beautiful when you're some place safe and warm.

Daily Hot Flash

• It's the most wonderful time of the year...when you read this, think of it as sung by Andy Williams. Branson, Missouri is so lucky to have him year-round. His Christmas album is a classic. I have to force myself every year to wait until after Halloween to listen to it. I love the holiday season. I spent the weekend looking at festive holiday decorations to cover my windows and tabletop. Of course I didn't buy anything because things are so tight this year. I think everyone is feeling a little pinch in the pocketbook. I thought this might help with some ideas to keep your Christmas shopping on budget.

• Best news story of the month...so far.

• Two really cool things are happening for web surfers -- One is that the Obama Administration is going to continue to use the web to directly communicate with the American population. The other is that MGM is going to start posting full films on YouTube. Both moves are incredibly forward-thinking and will reward those of us how are frequent internet users.

• An intriguing article about Malcom Gladwell. He's the writer who brought us both the Tipping Point and Blink. I consider both books to be MUST READS in order to understand the current economic climate and digital media explosion. Gladwell is a little strange, yet he covers some really relevant topics.

• Because women only want men for snuggling...here's a gift only a man could think was cool.

• A fixer-upper to end all fixer-uppers...you have got to see this place!

• You've heard of Cat-in-the Hat...Here's the Cat-in-the Box. It's Maru, who never met a box he didn't want to attack. Apparently he's huge in Japan. Here's his blog. I can't read Japanese (in fact, my computer doesn't register all the characters) but his photos are cute.

Cinderellavision

office cat
by pocarisweater

Tama the calico cat won nationwide popularity in Japan with the publication of a book of photos featuring her and the intensive media coverage after she was appointed in 2007 as stationmaster of the unmanned station on Wakayama Electric Railway’s Kishigawa Line, which runs between cities of Wakayama and Kinokawa.

As a result, the number of passengers using the Kishigawa Line increased dramatically bringing $10 million into the local economy.

Tama, the $10 million cat, spends her days posing for photos wearing a jaunty little stationmaster cap at an angle on her head. Do not try this at home! I assure you that your cat will resist this procedure. You will end up at the very least maimed -- if not, as in the case of my own darling cat -- completely dead.

Daily Hot Flash

• Some people love Halloween a little too much.

• Caribou Barbie continues to shock and surprise me...and not in that good way.

• Did this women's mother teach her nothing? What kind of man can bring home the bacon when he can't even roll out of bed to get married? I guess I should have some sympathy for a 38 year-old bride...she's getting to that point when that constant ringing in your ears is your biological alarm clock. I'm not sure how she's going to...well, I'm gonna keep it a family show and say at least she's marrying a Guiness Book of World Records winner.

• Morning sing-a-long: Tea for two....Two for tea..Me for you...and you for me.

• Heart-warming story about a little puppy and some kittens.

Cinderellavision

Maybe it's time to embrace your inner crazy cat lady...

Daily Hot Flash

• He's the new must read in my Amazon.com cue. A friend of Dewey the small-town library cat who touched the world has written a book about his lifetime of escapades. And if you're on Facebook -- he has his own page.

• So maybe being 'the library donkey' doesn't have the same kind of romance about it that being 'the library cat' does. But all these years when I've dreamed of visiting the National Bibliotheque in Paris...I could've gone to Columbia and waited for the 'Biblioburro' to visit me.

• Today my MPBF (most precious best friend) and I are going to the Women's Conference. We're hoping to be empowered. We'll probably knock over a shoe store on the way home just to prove it.

• We're chicks over 40 and we're online! We don't have to wait for the kids to make something a trend -- we can go right out and get in the front of the line. Here are 18 things that you can add to your computer to make it work harder for you.

• Just in case you weren't already convinced that Barack Obama is a good man with his priorities in the right order. My prayers go out to his family during this bittersweet time. I don't know if this family crisis will change Obama's plannned 'SNL' appearance or not.

• Just what we needed -- a new poll to tell us that we're worried and angry...This didn't help much either.

• On the other hand, Cloris Leachman has become my new hero. She's a one-woman lesson about aging backwards..and I guess she's made a whole generation of new fans on 'Dancing With The Stars' too. Girlfriend's crazy!

Daily Hot Flash

• People do good things online...

• John McCain and David Letterman kiss and make-up. Barack Obama is top cat.

• I'm speechless. Sarah Palin is charging the 'liberal media' $15 million for a peak at her emails. You can see all of mine for a dollar...

• I don't care if they repeatedly use the word 'sentimental' in the review. I read the book and I want to see the movie!

• I was born a Detroit Tigers fan. I have added being a fan of the Boston Red Sox over the last few years. If you watched last night's game, you'd quickly understand why anyone would want to cheer for those guys. (In the interest of full disclosure, I am still recovering from severe sleep deprivation and was napping on the sofa during the game. I did see all the good parts in replay after being woken up by the jubilant shrieks and jumping up and down by the Handsomest Man Alive.) It amazes me that any team would still believe in themselves enough to battle back from being behind 7-0...to win the game. Can you believe it? It is incredibly inspiring. Game Six on Saturday. Be there or be square.

• Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are selling their Beverly Hills mansion. (Click on the thumbnail photos for larger views.) Wouldn't you just love, love, love to have breakfast in that kitchen and go for a dip in the pool? Ok, fantasy time over...as my mother always says, "Yes, it's a beautiful house...but who wants to clean all of that?"

• People in L.A. like to think of themselves as trendsetters. They do hot yoga in Brentwood, naked yoga in West Hollywood. And now...Laughter yoga...you've got to be joking!
  

Extra Tit-Bits

• With apologies sent to the stables, Cloris Leachman is the kind of old broad that I aspire to be. At a recent screening of Young Frankenstein, I watched her hold her own on stage with Mel Brooks -- who lives to upstage whoever he's sharing the stage with. Watch her hold her own at a roast of Bob Saget. Goodnight, Frau Blucher! [Horses whinny.]
  
  
• Olympic officials give the Spanish synchronized swimmers a wardrobe malfunction.

• Meet Yoda. He can hear a can of Fancy Feast being opened from five miles away.

• The Smash Shack is not mine...but I think it's a great idea. Sarah rocks!
  

Morning Hot Flash July 31, 2008

• From the category of "it should come as no surprise," turns out we like our women very thin and our cats very fat. I seriously wish it was the other way around. It would be healthier for all of us. And by-the-way, the vet just confirmed that "Princess Chunk" is actually "Prince Chunk." And his foster mom is claiming he has a thyroid problem. Hmmmmm....
  

• People under 40 -- go on yoga dates. People over 40 -- get drunk on Cadillac margaritas and then go home and wrestle for control of the television remote. Who's getting a better workout? I'll let you decide.
  
  
• One of my favorite websites, Jezebel is doing a feature on the new "Celebrity Cellulite" cover story on the National Enquirer. It's my favorite annual issue. Go on! Make yourself a second cup of coffee, and settle in to scrutinize the cottage cheese on the thighs of movie stars. You'll feel a whole better about your own dimpled bum-bum...
  
  
• I cry every Sunday night when they "move that bus," but I had a horrible feeling that something like this would happen...
  
  


• I fall in love with the drama of the Olympics every two years. I'm planning to order Chinese food and enjoy the opening ceremonies from Beijing next Friday night. Did you ever wonder what happens to the athletes after the games? The New York Times found out in a fabulous multimedia report.