Jingle has a crush!

It appears that CGI technology in movies has become too real as Jingle now officially has a crush on CGI movie character.

We decided that it would be nice to watch a no brainer movie and decided on the new release, Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties. The movie itself is cute enough. Cheesy, but cute. With Garfield being the only CGI character and all other humans and animals being real, it's fun to watch the cat's antics. And I've always liked the big orange cat. Well, Jingle was completely captivated by the movie and everytime Garfield appeared onscreen, Jingle would meow. Paw the screen and roll over on her belly. And she only did this for Garfield.

So I can only assume, that my little girl is growing up, and has a crush. Ain't that cute....

So if the real Garfield is out there somewhere reading this, I think I have a fan over here that would love to meet you! Bring Odie if you wish.

Catnip marinated Watermelon Gum anyone?

Mmm, sounds yummy.

Yep! You guessed it, Jingle is at it again! So I've been working some long hours lately (well, longer than normal) and it appears my little girl is getting restless having her mommy gone for so long. So after a day in Windsor, with four hours of driving, dinner being a few hours late and totally wiped out from the 35 degree day, I come home to this....



Doesn't that look delicious! So what do we have here in Jingle's infamous water bowl? Well, a pink tennis ball with a bell inside, a pink catnip mouse which started to disolve in the water, and a full pack of Excel Fuse watermelon gum. Yummy. And just in case any of you are thinking of a home experiment, let me just tell you now that those crazy packs of gum are not water proof. So I wound up with 12 pieces of soggy catnip infused gum, which promptly went in the garbage.


I'm completely at my wits end now. I just cannot figure out the fascination she has with putting 'stuff' in her water bowl! Is it constant accidents? She just happens to loose grip on her toys as she walks past her water? Does she just like playing in water? What is it!?!?!?


So I throw the gum out, put the toys on the counter to dry, clean the water bowl, fill it with fresh cold water, go to the bedroom to change and come back out to the ball and mouse promptly back in the water bowl. Yeesh!


So after repeating the above steps again (minus the gum removal) I called Jingle's grandmother in complete frustration to request help. Her suggestion? Leave some water in the bathtub and put some toys in it. If she just likes to play with toys in water, maybe she'll leave her water alone then! So, I will sadly try this, and see if it makes any difference. So if you come and visit and use the bathroom, don't bother asking why there are cat toys in the bathtub, okay?

I've been told... yeesh!

Believe or don't believe me but I swear this 100% true. I told you already of Jingle's weekend antics and I let it be known that she was bad. Apparently Jingle didn't appreciate that because I came home to a pretty clear message from her today. Very amused, slightly terrified, and loving my cat more then ever, she found a way to get her point across. I've been slowly reading "Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul" since Christmas. Reading a story here and there. I keep the book on my nightstand. I came home today to find the book on the floor and open to a page. At first I thought "she's at it again" but as I picked up the book I noticed the page it was open to. A story I hadn't read yet. I'm going to share it with and you tell me if it's coincidence or not. I'm thinking not.

The Cat's Bill of Rights by Michael Ruemmler

I am the cat, and I have certain inalienable rights"
I have the right to walk over your face anytime I wish, day or night.
I have the right to observe and comment on any and all bathroom behavior. Further, I have the right to be highly offended by any closed door.
I have the right to smell your shoes to determine if you have been fraternizing or cavorting or frolicking with any highly questionable animals.
I have the right to assist in any food preparation, cooking, cleaning or eating event that may occur in the home.
I have the right to wake you at three in the morning if I find my food dish is not to my satisfaction.
I have the right to tip over any water container I deem unsuitable for consumption.
I have the right to curse at squirrels and birds that may dare pass my windows.
I have the right to inspect any grocery items that come into my home. Further, I have the right to inhabit any paper bag or cardboard box that you bring home for as long as I wish.
I have the right to nap at any time and place I darn well please, without the distraction of being called or moved just because you want to sit down, wash your hands or use your computer keyboard.
I have the right to sleep on top of any appliance that is warm.
I have the right to assist in any changing of bed linens and to chase the phantom creatures that hide beneath the sheets.
I have the right to look aloof when scolded for mistaking your toes for on those pesky phantom creatures that hide beneath the sheets.
I have the right to kill paper towel rolls that otherwise might sneak up on at night.
I have the right to your complete attention anytime you sit down to read or work.
And, finally, I have the right to be loved, petted, pampered and entertained, for, as you know, the best things in life... purr.
And, should you err in your ways, I will graciously forgive. After all, you are only human, but I love you anyway.

Signed,
The Cat

So like I said, I've been told. Freaky or what. I actually feel guilty now for trying to scold Jingle! I think my cat is smarter than me. Any advice?

That little stinker....

Okay, this actually happened Friday night and Saturday but I figured I better take some time to relax before I told you about this.

So my little stinker of a roommate, yes Jingle, decided on Friday night, in the middle of the night, that after successfully soaking her furball in her water for a while, she was going to bring the dripping toy onto the bed and drop it on mommy's face. FREAKIN' HEART ATTACK!!!!!

A sopping wet furry ball, in your face, in the middle of the night, in a deep sleep. Nice.... And even after throwing the ball on the floor many times afterwards, she kept bringing it back up on the bed so that my morning, I had many little wet spots on my bed. Lovely....

Oh, but the antics didn't stop there! On Saturday I went to have a picnic with my grandparents. I left my purse at home, and just grabbed my wallet. In my purse was my very expensive bluetooth headset. I come home and my very expensive bluetooth headset is in Jingle's water bowl. So that means that she dug into my purse, found the device, pulled it out (which could not have been easy) then carry it across the kitchen to her water bowl. Smart cat. Thankfully after its swim the device is working properly but Jingle is still grounded!

Is this what my parents went through? Sweet innocent kids one day, little pains the next?

Wrapping Presents with a Cat

I got this email from my uncle Denis and laughed like crazy. The whole time I was reading I was thinking "that's my Jingle" but more so, this is such a Peewee thing to do. I can vouch for this as Peewee and Holly were my houseguests during the Christmas Season last year, the time when we all do the most wrapping at once. My wrapping paper will never be the same. So enjoy everyone, and remember your little furballs as you read!

Wrapping Presents with a Cat:

1. Clear large space on table for wrapping present.

2. Go to closet and collect bag in which present is contained, and shut door.

3. Open door and remove cat from closet.

4. Go to cupboard and retrieve rolls of wrapping paper.

5. Go back and remove cat from cupboard.

6. Go to drawer, and collect transparent sticky tape, ribbons, scissors, labels, etc. . .

7. Lay out presents and wrapping materials on table, to enable wrapping strategy to be formed.

8. Go back to drawer to get string, remove cat that has been in the drawer since last visit and collect string.

9. Remove present from bag.

10. Remove cat from bag.

11. Open box to check present, remove cat from box, replace present.

12. Lay out paper to enable cutting to size.

13. Try and smooth out paper, realize cat is underneath and remove cat.

14. Cut the paper to size, keeping the cutting line straight.

15. Throw away first sheet as cat chased the scissors, and tore the paper.

16. Cut second sheet of paper to size - by putting cat in the bag the present came in.

17. Place present on paper.

18. Lift up edges of paper to seal in present. Wonder why edges don't reach. Realize cat is between present and paper. Remove cat.

19. Place object on paper, to hold in place while tearing transparent sticky tape.

20. Spend 20 minutes carefully trying to remove transparent sticky tape from cat with pair of nail scissors.

21. Seal paper with sticky tape, making corners as neat as possible.

22. Look for roll of ribbon. Chase cat down hall in order to retrieve ribbon.

23. Try to wrap present with ribbon in a two-directional turn.

24. Re-roll ribbon and remove paper, which is now torn due to cat's enthusiastic ribbon chase.

25. Repeat steps 17-24 until you reach last sheet of paper.

26. Decide to skip steps 17-21 in order to save time and reduce risk of losing last sheet of paper. Retrieve old cardboard box that is the right size for sheet of paper.

27. Put present in box, and tie down with string.

28. Remove string, open box and remove cat.

29. Put all packing materials in bag with present and head for locked room.

30. Once inside lockable room, lock door and start to relay out paper and materials.

31. Remove cat from box, unlock door, put cat outside door, close and relock.

32. Repeat previous step as often as is necessary (until you can hear cat from outside door)

33. Lay out last sheet of paper. (This will be difficult in the small area of the toilet, but do your best)

34. Discover cat has already torn paper. Unlock door go out and hunt through various cupboards, looking for sheet of last year's paper. Remember that you haven't got any left because cat helped with this last year as well.

35. Return to lockable room, lock door, and sit on toilet and try to make torn sheet of paper look presentable.

36. Seal box, wrap with paper and repair by very carefully sealing with sticky tape. Tie up with ribbon and decorate with bows to hide worst areas.

37. Label. Sit back and admire your handiwork, congratulate yourself on completing a difficult job.

38. Unlock door, and go to kitchen to make drink and feed cat.

39. Spend 15 minutes looking for cat until coming to obvious conclusion.

40. Unwrap present, untie box and remove cat.

41. Go to store and buy a gift bag.

My Fridge!

So Chantelle did a post on her blog showcasing her fridge and invited others do the same. First of all, I want to vouch for Chantelle in confirming that her fridge really is that organized, she didn't alter anything for her post!

So I am finally getting a chance to respond and show my totally non-interesting fridge to you all. I would have done this sooner but in my computer and blogging ignorance, I first had to figure out if I had a program to edit photos, then had to figure out how to edit photos. They don't look as cool as Chantelle's wonderful photo editing, but in my defence, I'm not a photographer like her and Adam, I'm not married to a web designer who gets paid to work with photos online, and I'm a complete goof when it comes to things like this. So forgive the basic appearance and hopefully, enjoy!

Not being quite as organized on my fridge as Chantelle and Adam, my content spans to the side of fridge also so let's start there!

1. Certificate for Adam's Web Design services that I won at their Stag & Doe last year. I was promised that I could exchange it for a photo session with Jingle since I no longer need a website so I keep it there to remind myself to bug Adam about it (Sorry Adam).

2. Ticket for the Lion's club car raffle that my Grandfather bought me. The draw was three months ago, I didn't win, and I also have my parent's ticket there too. I keep forgetting to give it to them. Not really sure why they are still there actually.

3. Brochure and magnet for Body Dynamics, Sarah Zadorsky's Massage Therapy business. I keep the brochure up as a wish list for future visits (she's really incredible!!) and the magnet so I can easily rattle the number off to others or have guests see it and hopefully call her. That's me, always networking!

4. Take out menu for my favorite Chinese food place. I soooo love Paul and Yu's!!! Almond Soo Guy all the way baby!!

5. Notice on recycling rules in building. This was sitting on the counter the day I moved in. I don't think I've ever read it and also don't really know why I have it on my fridge. Maybe I should just throw that one out, eh?

6. Checklist for available "Company's Coming" Cookbooks. Again, don't really know why it's there, or why I bothered to even start checking it off. I really could care less about it. But it's there nonetheless.

And my very random magnets are holding everything up. There's everything from a Cactus to wolves to E.T. to a dog that's looks like Taco (our family dog as kids) up there. There was also a beer stein magnet that mysteriously disappeared a few weeks ago. I can't imagine using anything else because they all came from Mom when I first moved out. She cleaned off all the magnets from her fridge and sent them down to St. Catharines saying that "everyone needs magnets on their fridge". And even though most are chipped from Jingle pawing them off and they don't match anything at all, I just can't imagine using anything else. I'm a sentimental sap!

So now, the front of the fridge!

1. 1-800-you-got-junk magnetic pen that I keep handy for grocery lists. I love that pen. And so does Jingle as it is often found under the fridge.

2. Grocery list pad that resembles Jingle. I got the pad from Melissa almost two years ago and it's still got a lot of paper on it. I will be so sad when it runs out.

3. Random magnetic from Mom that somehow got on the front of the fridge (must have walked over from the side of the fridge). I haven't figured out yet what is missing because that magnet was holding something in place but Chantelle's rules were to not alter anything on the fridge so there it is!

4. Picture card from my Cousins wedding in 2006. The wedding was the same time as Chantelle and Adam's and I just received the beautiful picture so it will be showcased for a while until it goes in an album.

5. Sixth and Elm magnets!!!!! I'll admit that I never actually reference the calender magnet but it's so freakin' cool that it's staying right where it is.

6. Whiteboard magnet for jotting reminders. I got this from a client, they advertise with them. It's a handy little thing but for the last five months it has said "Sat - 1pm". It's in my hand writing but I have no clue what Saturday it was supposed to be for or what was to happen at 1pm. I decided not to erase it in case I remembered so it hasn't been used for a while.

7. JINGLE PICTURES!!! Lots and lots of Jingle pics. From Polaroids to my favorite picture that Chantelle took. It's just great to look at them everyday.

8. Sixth and Elm original creation magnets (plug to Chantelle). Following in Mom's footsteps of providing magnets to a first time apartment dweller, Chantelle made me a set of my very own magnets and I love them. They are these adorable tiles with inspirational words on them and my favorite of them all is holding my favorite Jingle picture. Great story really. Chantelle was trying to think of words for the magnets and had one left. Out of ideas, she turned to her friend Colin who was visiting (and is one of the funniest people I know, just love that guy) and said "Colin, I need an encouraging word..." He shrugs and says, "I don't know... 'duck'!". And low and behold, along with "Love", "See", "Laugh" and "Fly" I have a "Duck" magnet. It's the best!

Items not shown: Anything that Jingle has knocked off the fridge, from notices to menus to magnets that I either can't find or didn't notice missing.

So there's my wacky fridge you all! Enjoy and let Chantelle and I know if you decide to join the craziness on your own website!

I think she's obsessed!

Oh boy, what to do now. She's obsessed, I know she is! And if I can't do anything about it, I won't get the attention I so rightly deserve!

I guess I should explain. You see, mommy finally got the last audio book for Harry Potter so she now has the whole collection in the books and audio books. She also has all the movies that are out too and their soundtracks. Now don't get me wrong, I like the stories and the movies. For a long time, I made mommy watch the movies everynight while she tried to fall asleep. But sometimes you just need a break!

So now that she has her collection complete, I am constantly hearing a man read the stories through the stereo. And often, Mommy has the book out and is following along! She listened to the Deathly Hallows twice through before she started again from book one and is working her way up. She listens to the book, reads along, then watches the movie! She even takes the audio books with her and listens to them in her car while she runs around the city. And if it's not the books, it's the movie soundtracks!

I still get a lot of attention. She lets me curl up on her stomach while she listens and I get scratches, hugs and kisses. But I'm worried that if she doesn't cure this obsession soon, I may be forgotten!

I'll have to amuse myself! Help!

Why I love my mommy...

So I thought it was time to write a blog again because I haven't blogged much lately. Well, mainly because it's mommy that goes out and does things, I am just a cat afterall. New exciting things don't happen everyday for me, but that's how I like it. Just me and mom in our quiet lives.

So we had a great weekend, mommy worked at home a lot but we still had plenty of time to relax together and bond. As you can see from the fact that our movie list grew by about 10 this weekend, knocking the movies we just saw two days ago off the list. But that's what we like to do.

So anyways, why I love my mommy....

All the mushy reasons exist of course, but I think one of the greatest things is that with mommy, I can do no wrong. And today, I thought I would just really test my limits earning me a whole bunch of hugs and laughing from mommy.

It started with a 3am toe licking session. Mommy is sooooo not a morning person so every once in a while I decide to disturbe her sleep with a cold nose in her ear, a nip on her hand, etc. So at 3am, I started licking her toes. That was fun. Whatever dream she was having was totally gone. So after her mild heart attack and nearly kicking me in the head from shear reflex action, she grabbed me, hugged me, called me a stinker and went back to bed.

Then, at 7am, I brought her my favorite toy. But I thought it would be better if I instead of leaving it beside her, I just dropped it right on her face (hee hee, what a riot). Another hug and exhausted laugh and she decided it was too early to wake up on a holiday monday.

At 8:45 I decided that was enough sleeping (who cares if we stayed up until 2am watching movies, I can sleep all day if I want) so I just sat in the doorway and cried like something was wrong until mommy woke up startled and came running out of the bedroom. After looking around to see what happened to cause me to cry so loud and seeing nothing out of place, she flopped on the couch and I immediately jumped up for a rub. Clueing in, mommy again laughed, ruffled my fur and hugged me.

Now, any normal human would be furious by now over these antics and any normal cat would be in deep doo doo, but not me, and not my mommy.

So the day rolls on and mommy decides to check her email. Wanting attention from her and not caring about her mail, I decide to jump up on her lap and proceed to drop myself on her computer. Aparently that was a bad idea because pressing all the keys at once caused something crazy to happen and it froze the whole computer up. It took an hour for some scan thingy to run when she restarted it. But, I wasn't in trouble, she just pulled the "stinker" comment out and hugged me.

So then she decided that it was time to relax and watch tv. So I proceed to use mommy as a cushion to watch tv with her. Since she wasn't petting me enough, I decided to climb up on her chest and put my nose to hers until I was satisfied and causing her to not be able to see the television. Again, a laugh from mommy and a great hug. Then she had to run to the washroom but I wasn't done getting a rub so I followed her and was right up on her lap. Then back to the couch for more rubs. And finally, to bed, where it's now common practice for mommy not to be able to go to sleep until I get enough love from her.

So you see, I'm spoiled and I know it. I can do anything to command attention from mommy whenever I want it and never get into trouble. And that's one of the many reasons why I love mommy.

Good night everyone! *Meow*

My Weekly Television Plug

Yeah, I seem to plug a television show each week but it seems that every week there is one show that just blows my mind.

This week, like many, Canadian Idol blew my mind. I don't recall either the Canadian Idol or American Idol shows ever paying tribute to one of the most legendary rock bands of the world before but these week, Canadian Idol performed the songs of the incomparable Queen.

I can honestly say that I'm a Queen fan. I think every is to some extent, even if it's just to shout "We Will Rock You" at an opposing sports team. We all are moved by Queen somehow. But I actually own Cd's, I always have their greatest hits on my MP3 player, and I still remember crying in 1991 when I heard that Freddie Mercury died. I even own the orchestral score for Bohemian Rhapsody.

Well, tonight, Canada's youngest, brightest up an comers performed a whole night of tribute to one of the greatest British rock bands of all time and let me tell, it blew me away. And this week, it seemed the guys completely outshone the gals. The girls did great job, but the guys just seemed to have some little extra umph (with the exception of Carly Rae who just is in her own little amazing world each week).

So there's my plug, now I shall fall asleep with visions of bicycles and fat bottomed girls in my head...

I never really noticed before!

So lately an artist by the name of Enrique Iglesias had been appearing on a number of shows performing and promoting his new album.

He performed on So You Think You Can Dance, and last night on Canadian Idol, just to name a couple.

And while watching him both times it slowly became clear to me that the man is actually really talented and I quite enjoy his music.

I'm not insulting Enrique at all, don't miss understand me. I just simply never bothered to listen to his music and really decide.

So, yes, I think I just found another artist to add to my list of tops. And his new single "Somebody's Me" is really great too (although not as good as Bon Jovi's "Make A Memory").

What Mommy doesn't know...

Okay you all, shhhh, don't mention this to Mom.

I like that she thinks so highly of me but the way she boasts, really! I just need to set the record straight with you all, but let Mommy have her glory, okay?

Mommy is partially right in the fact that I don't get into a whole lot when she's not here because it's more fun to have her watch me and giggle and laugh and try to scold but just laugh more. She thinks it's so cute and it is not as fun when no one is watching.

I learned that if I did something wrong in front of her, she usually just thinks it's cute and that's that. If I did the same thing while she was gone, she'd be pretty mad when she got home.

But, here is my little secret. You know Uncle Chuki? From Toronto? Well, he spends hours upon hours watching my Aunty Chantelle make crafts and trinkets and things like that and while watching her, has figured out a lot about basic repair. I have broken things here and there but Uncle Chuki talked me through the fixes and repairs and so far, everything is holding up well and obviously Mommy hasn't noticed that they were broken. Oh, and no one pick up her Gollum statue if you visit, it may crumble in your hands.

So, you see, I'm not puuuurfect. I'm a curious, young, energetic cat, who like all kids, sometimes does something bad and tries to hide it from their parent(s).

I think it's not all that different then a story Mommy once told me about her and her sister, a little argument, a foot in some drywall and about a gallon of putty.

Why I trust my cat

So, you see, there are reasons why I don't worry about Jingle being alone.

I know, I know, my family is thinking "what are you talking about?! You go nuts everytime you leave her!"

Well, this is true, but it's not because I don't trust her. I just can't stand to be away from her. I'd never leave the house if I didn't have to because I love how she is just always there, always loving, always cuddly.

But anyways, my point. I had a point, really!

Things have been really crazy lately. Work is long hours (mostly because some of the others are on holidays so I have some covering to do, and July is bad because of quarterly reports needed) and it's meant late nights, an average of 4 hours sleep each night for the past two weeks and a good dose of stress. Not complaining!!!! It's temporary! This business always has those periods and it happens about every three months.

Well, I'm slowly loosing my mind a little and last night I finally got to sleep at about 2:30am and had to leave the house at 7am to get to Windsor. I wasn't thinking last night or this morning and when I came home, I realized that I not only left the patio door open all night and all day (don't worry, I'm on the 11th floor, not like someone is going to get in) but I also left a glass of water on the table, my half eaten dinner on the counter along with the rest of the supper dishes, piles of papers loose in the office and living room and an unmade bed with fresh clothes on it.

I'm not a slob, I was working and these things were at the back of my mind. Never got to them before exhaustion hit.

So after a full day on her own, with an abundance of things to get into (or out of in the case of the patio door), guess what my little girl got into today....

Zip, Zero, Natta!!! If I'm home working Jingle will consider every paper pile a toy but if I'm not here to watch her, she won't touch it.

She loves to push or pull things off the coffee table in front of me, including glasses of water sometimes, but when I leave, everything stays the way I left it.

I can leave food out (accidentally leave it out, again, not a slob) and she will not touch it.

I can leave clean clothes on the bed and she just simply sleeps around them and doesn't touch them.

What she does play with is her own toys, her own water, her own food.

So I have absolutely no reason to not trust my cat. I don't know for sure if she only does the kitten thing when I'm around for attention or because she just believes that it's okay as long as I'm here, I just know that my belongings are always safe when I'm not here.

And just so you know, Jingle has never hurt, damaged or destroyed anything I own, ever, while I'm away since the day I brought her home. Gee, she really is a great cat.

Bixby does it again!

Okay, so admittedly, on Monday night, Jaydee Bixby didn't actually do that great of a performance on Canadian Idol.

I mean, he sang well enough and I really liked how he put his classic country vibe into a 90's rock song but I sort of agree with the judges that he kind of missed the point of the song.

However, despite the fact that he sang a song written about a bad breakup, he had that infectious smile on his face the whole time and once he starts twanging, the giggles start up again too.

So, yeah to Jaydee, you made me laugh and smile again.

And honorable mentions to the idols that truly rock the house each week, the ones I'm sure will make it to the end, Brian Melo, Greg Neufeld, and Carly Rae Jepsen!

A new addiction...

It's been so busy lately with work and I had the pleasure of Mom and Dad visiting this weekend so I'm a few days behind in posting. However, despite being so busy, I am still finding time each week for my new addiction.

There is a new game show on TV. It's so incredibly cheesy yet I find I can't help but watch and play along.

It's "Spelling Bee" hosted by 'N Sync's Joey Fatone. It's a game show where you basically have to sing the rest of the words of a song. But of course, it's all the best songs ever. So it's a half hour of great music, contestants that may or may not be able to sing and a feeling of just singing along with them.

So that's my new addiction. Maybe I need to blame this addiction on Dad for getting Chantelle and I so involved in Music.