i want to make your kitty purr (enter the giveaway!)

What does any mature and sophisticated newly 29-year-old adult want to do on her birthday? I’m pretty sure the right answer is hide under a comfy blanket with coffee in hand and spend the day with her cat. That’s what I want to do, at least. The only problem is Pix will barely put up with the audacity of me ‘being present’ for so long before she realizes that laying in the sun is a much more tempting offer. I don’t blame her, really.

Today is my birthday. The best thing about birthdays? Gifts. (And getting to do whatever the hell you want all day without anyone telling you you’re a lazy sack. Oh, and cake. Mmm) So, I thought it would be fun to give a present away. It contains the necessary items to attain my ideal ‘perfect day.’ A super soft blanket,  a mug for your coffee, and fun things to make your cat(s) want to spend the day with you.

Included in the giveaway is:
– A plush red and brown new cat bed
– A plaid fleece blanket
– A cat-crazy coffee mug
– Kitty treats
– 3 crocheted balls that rattle
– 3 crocheted catnip-infused mice
– 2 crocheted sling bands (Pix’s favorite!)

All crocheted toys are done by yours truly. Normally, I  sell them to raise money for the SPCA and these are the colors I had on hand. If you want specific colors, just ask! I hoard yarn in every color imaginable.

To enter: Fill out the form below. In the ‘comment’ section of the form, please say what state you live in (US) or what country. You can enter from now through the end of Saturday (11:59pm EST). The winner will be drawn at random and announced here Sunday.

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If you have a cat: enter
If you don’t, but know someone who does: enter (I’ll mail it out before Christmas)
If you don’t have a cat, or know any cat lovers: enter and donate it to your local humane society. I’m sure they would appreciate it.

Next time, I’ll do a more generic giveaway. Like money, or an Amazon gift card. But, it’s my birthday. As Cartman would say:  I do what I want! 

(This giveaway is sponsored by my husband. Who happily supported me spending money in order to do this even though I don’t make money blogging. He’s pretty kickass)

hands off my fish taco, dog

Well, it’s finally happened. I lost my virginity last night. I have to say — it was pretty magical. We were outside, clutching each other close underneath the Christmas lights.  It was…. perfect.

I finally got to pick out my first-ever live Christmas tree. Woooo. (Come on, guys. I’m married. How sad would it be if I actually was a virgin?) When I was growing up, we always had a fake one. My parents are practical, stuffy neat-freaks. Why the hell would you cut a tree down and bring it inside when it will cause a mess of pine needles all over the floor? Blasphemous! Since our cat is allergic to everything and your mother. (Yes, even YOUR mother. I mean — have you ever heard of a cat allergic to dogs? She’s quite special) We have never had a real tree because we were afraid it would bother her.

Sadly, the tree won’t be living in our house due to the cat, but my in-laws still invited us to dinner and to help them pick their two out. For a Christmas fanatic — it tickled my fancy quite a bit.

But, we had a debate last night that needs to be settled. I’m really curious about y’all’s opinions: At the restaurant where we had dinner there was a man with a service dog next to us. He was an emotional support dog. The man was eating alone and sharing all of his food with the begging pup. When the man ran out of fries to supply to him, the dog started begging at nearby tables for random people’s food. Our opinions were all different at the table. If you were sitting at the table with us, what would you be thinking? (I don’t think the poll can be seen on the Reader)

 

embrace your inner crazy

For the love of God!  I mean… Cats! For the love of cats!

I’ve been trying to stay on top of my Christmas shopping this year, and I’m happy to announce: I’ve been kicking some serious ass. I’m almost done.  So, I’m pretty sure that warrants a pat on the back or something as it’s not even December yet. And a cookie. Maybe a brownie. Okay…both. I want both, damn it.

Who’s getting the most gifts from us this year? The cat. Yep, you read that right. Our pet cat. I’m not sure how or when this happened, but I’ve become one of those strange cat ladies.  The kind that has conversations with a non-verbal cat more often than with other human beings. Sometimes we share pieces of cheese together and take turns licking the same ice cream cone. (Okay, I don’t actually do that. Have you ever smelled cat breath? Blech.)  Sadly, I’m not even 30 yet. I didn’t think crazy-cat-lady syndrome could happen so early.

So far, she will have a new cat tree, water fountain, automatic feeder, litter box, bed, blanket, and a slew of toys under the tree. I can’t wait to see the look on her face on Christmas morning when she gets to open them all.

……. We really need to have kids or something. This is getting scary. Help

adopt a cat, save your eyelids

You know those assholes that are already decorating for Christmas even though Thanksgiving hasn’t even rolled around yet? What the hell, right? Can’t we take one holiday at a time? Stop trying to shove Christmas down our throats with your pretty lights, touching TV ads and joyful music. Enough is enough already.

Well… I am one of those assholes. I love all things Christmas. The earlier the better, I always say.

My love for the holidays took a horrific turn last night, though. When a 2 inch long roach crawled out of one of the decoration boxes that we had brought in from the garage. I almost had a heart palpitation. This bitch was so big I could literally hear him crawling on the floor from 5 feet away. I panicked. Fight or flight? What do I do? Am I actually able to approach and kill this thing without gagging and throwing up everywhere? If I don’t kill it, it will for sure eat my eyelids in my sleep.

Then, a 6 pound hero emerged. She raced over and chomped the roach right in half and stood guard on the box until Alex got home to take over. She just may have saved my eyelids from being eaten last night. Go adopt a homeless cat. Save your eyelids, people!

(the panic was real)

(Okay, I know she doesn’t give a crap about guarding a box for me and just wanted a tasty snack. But still — go adopt a homeless cat, anyway)

tell me something funny

I’ve been nominated for a Liebster Award. I see them floating around everywhere, and I truly have no idea what they are. What I haven’t seen around : who wins. anybody? what do I get if I win? who chooses the winner?! WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

So, I’ve decided I’m going to do a rebel-version of the award “rules” and just answer the questions. The only reason I’m doing gonna do it is because the person who nominated me is pretty awesome. She cracks me up. Go visit Sandra’s blog “what sandra thinks”  here.

Her questions were:

How many different places have you lived and which was your favorite?
I’ve lived in 7 different states  here in the US: Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, and currently North Carolina. My favorite was Utah — friendly people and snow-capped mountains. Hello.
Describe yourself in 5 words or less.
My cat has her own room. (six words — but it says a lot)
Who is your hero or idol?
JK Rowling. A bit cliche, but growing up I always thought it was amazing how she could captivate an audience.
Where is your favorite place on earth?
Anywhere coffee, sweatpants, and fuzzy slippers are socially acceptable to wear all day.
What is your most-loved childhood memory?
Races with my sister to see who could poop the fastest. Kids.
What annoys you most?
When people are unwilling to see something from another’s perspective. Or anything foot related. Feet are disgusting.
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, health concerns aside, what would it be?
Pizza or Chinese food. Not real Chinese food — the bastardized American version.
Where would you go on your perfect vacation?
A margarita and a beach is all I need.

Rather than pass it along to other people, I thought it would be fun to just ask my own question to anyone who wants to answer. I’m going to base it off my favorite question of Sandra’s.
What is your funniest childhood memory? (kid stories always make me laugh)

the feeling is mutual, Halloween

I’ve never been a big fan of Halloween. I’m pretty sure I’m flying solo on that feeling, considering everyone I know on Facebook has currently stuffed themselves into a costume that barely fits and leaves little to the imagination. (Really… some things are better left unseen, people. Don’t go in public and let your bits and pieces flop around in the breeze.)

But, this year I decided I would give Halloween a chance. I got the candy to hand out. I got the pumpkins to carve for the first time ever. And, damn… after a few hours of fishing pumpkin guts out and carving with Alex — I was proud when I set them outside.

Then, I checked on them a few days later. On top of the pumpkins being completely moldy (that’s not snow)… half of the candy is gone already, too.

I tried to give you a chance, Halloween… but all you’ve done so far is leave me sad and fat. I guess I should just hide inside with the lights off, peering over the flashlight like a crazy person again this year.

(Really, though… I can’t be the only one who doesn’t like Halloween… or am I truly that much of an oddball?)

Also, a note to cat owners: please, please, please make sure your black cats (or any outdoor cats) are brought inside. There are some sick assholes out there.

some tuesday trivia

Fun Fact: The FDA estimates that the average human unintentionally eats up to a pound of bugs a year.

yum… did someone say extra protein?

Also, it’s come to my attention today is National Black Cat Day in the UK. I’m from the US… but, I have a cat. She is black. So, I’m going to force y’all to look at a picture of her anyway. You’re welcome.

when cold medicine makes you crazy

I woke up yesterday feeling like I was upchucked by Satan… which, I can’t say I was too disappointed about. It gave me a legitimate reason to do nothing but be a lazy sack all day. Score! But, as I laid here in a mush of blankets with tissues corkscrewed into nose (sexy, eh?) I discovered two things:

1. I never add pictures to my posts. What the hell?  That’s boring and something that needs to be changed.
2. Too much cold medicine makes you do weird things.

So… here’s a picture of my husband trying to shove himself into a pet carrier.

Why, you ask? Because why the hell not.

ziggy the cat, cuddling pimp

Ziggy, our foster cat, has been dubbed the official “Pimp of Cuddling.” Of course, it didn’t take long for this guy to find a new home. He took a liking to females — whether it was human or cat.

He’s got more game than my husband. Okay. Not really. Shh

Although I know he’s found a great home, he is missed.

because special needs animals need hugs too

Meet Pix. She’s my very sweet cat that happens to be plagued with a lot of health issues. We rescued her as a kitten from someone that had an extreme hoarding issue. The vets think starting her life surrounded by piles of trash and God knows what else had a significant impact on her health. Understandably.

Due to some intense allergies, she just about always breathes through her mouth. With one tooth hanging out. Never both. Which makes getting really cute pictures a little difficult. We’ve come to love her regardless though. Keep doing you, Pix.

Statistically, black cats (and dogs!) have a significantly lower chance of being adopted vs the other colors due to preconceived notions of them bringing people bad luck. Let me state the obvious here… this should go without saying: it isn’t true. Special needs animals are also looked over. People don’t want to take on the extra expenses or feel they don’t have the time to invest in their care. But these guys need love, too.

Don’t overlook these animals, they need and deserve all the love they can get as much as their counterparts. Just because they cost a little extra, won’t take perfect pictures for your Facebook wall, or they need extra attention doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. Give them a chance. You won’t regret it.