Ringo Jingle Bell

One more sleep until Harry Potter!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 03:36:00 +0000

Okay, I'm actually more excited about seeing my adorable and pregnant sister. But Harry Potter is a nice bonus! Plus I get to see Adam and Chuki and Lucy.

But, of course, I can't dream of visiting Lucy without bringing Mischief. The cat that every cat loves (well, Chucki "tolerates" Mischief but as far as Chuki standards go, that's a close to "love" as he's gotten with a cat).

So tomorrow my little one and I hit the road. Mischief is actually great to travel with. Just chills on the passenger seat and rests and listens to music. But he's excited to see his pal Lucy. It's going to be a great weekend. We'll have to fill you in all about it when we get back!

Yeah!

Mischief!!!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:08:00 +0000

In my attempt to fill you all in on the past year, I must start with the biggies.

Mischief is a biggy. Adopted in January, he has become a fast friend to his sister Jingle and it just adorable altogether. As Jingle has grown up and now has her own bed at night, Mischief can't sleep without holding Mommy's hand (Seriously. He literally puts his paw in my hand when he sleeps).

He's soft, all white (albino actually) which gives him the wonky one green one blue eye and makes him half deaf. Now, the eyes are awesome, see for yourself.... That's not photo shop baby!

He's super cuddly, mostly comatose and happy just to be close to you without being needy. He's sleeping at my feet right now, randomly nibbling a toe here or there.

He just turned one in June and was rescued off the side of the road by a friend. She took him in as a barn cat and although he loved to swing from her horses tail, she knew he was too special to stay a barn cat. Knowing we had four others already she suggested I take him in. Without seeing him I said "okay" thinking I'm dead meat when the parents find out. But one look at him and we all melted. His hearing loss causes him to have this quiet little squeak of a voice which is completely adorable and at a year old, he's about the same size as Jingle, small and cute.

So now I have two babies, one gorgeous little angel who will always be a mommy's girl, and a cuddly little boy who looks like a cross between a Q-tip and pocket lint.

Gotta love cats!

FACEBOOK!!!!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:04:00 +0000

I'm finally on facebook! Mwah ha ha ha. Beware facebook world. You cannot hide anymore.

Actually, I haven't figured out half of what this crazy site is yet. I got invited to YoVille. Wierd little place. Cute though too.

I can't figure out why when I log in I can see every post that people on my list have posted (even if just to each other).

And where's the freakin' instruction manual?!

Anyways, I'm there, and learning new things all the time. May take me a while to respond as I try to figure out where you posted your message, but I will respond!

See you there!

YAWN

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:20:00 +0000

Must type, must type....

Okay, I promised to get back up and going on the blog.

And then I have two 16 hour work days back to back (friggin' deadlines!!!!)

But, a promise is a promise so I must blog.

Therefore....

HELLO AGAIN EVERYONE!

Blogging done, write again soon, sleeeeeeeeeeeeepppppppppp!!!!!

I'm baaaaack!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 04:17:00 +0000

So, time to get the blog back up and rolling after a long hiatus.

Oh wait, never mind, just start typing and Mischief starts crying "Mommy, mommy, time for bed, let's go!"

Oh well, I guess we'll start up again tomorrow, a little earlier I suppose.

Catch you all soon!

Woohoo!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 04:08:00 +0000

Wow, what a week!

Okay, so first! I GOT THE JOB IN OTTAWA!!!!

Yeah me!

Then, the week gets a little hard, because I left Jingle to vacation at Grandma and Grandpa's for a few weeks so that was hard. But, apparently she's having loads of fun and settling in nicely.

Then, last night, in class, I was voted by the class as the breakthrough presentation of the night!

Yeah me!

So just to explain the last one a little bit more, each week we vote on two people to gain recognition. First is the person to most effectively communicate. The second is breakthrough (which basically means, who stepped out of their comfort zone and bring the whole class with them). Last nights assignments were all based on enthusiam. We had to present two things where we used a great deal of enthusiams, to the point of exaggeration. Apparently I did well.

And as for the job, I'm very excited. It's a good job, position created for me (not one they had) and it's regular hours, steady pay, a nice change.

So there's my weekly WOOHOO!!!!

I've lost my mind!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:17:00 +0000

Or maybe I finally found it! Not sure which.

But, I've gone and done it either way.

"WTF IS SHE TALKING ABOUT???"

Okay, okay, I'll explain! Yeesh people!

What have I done? I've quit my job. And I'm moving.

You all know work has been rough lately. Not bad really, just that things aren't growing as fast as we all thought and I'm working too much. After a few months of not sleeping, working through most nights to get things done, and not making what everyone anticipated, I finally had a breakdown. I felt awful, tired, depressed, wipped out. I felt like, well, kinda like this....

So I quit! Done, bye bye, so long. And I really have no idea what I'll do next for a job, but I don't really care. I know I'm good at my craft, my family is supportive, I'm not worried.

So, to top it off, I'm moving, with Jingle. I'm uprooting my little girl and taking her away. We're heading to Merrickville. Invading Mom and Dad's basement, moving it all. Now, most parents would be all "crap, the kids are moving back in" but not our parents. In fact, it was their suggestion and seeing them doing so much better, I realized it might just be what I need to turn things around. Jingle will have her best friend back (Peewee) and Holly might get a break. And, since we're going to be in the basement, Jingle can learn a new skill too. Don't get me started, I'm trying not to think about it.

Plus, I'll have my best friends back. Dad with his great music, always ready for a good time. Mom with her calm demeanor, who loves to curl up on a couch and relax or read (usually with a Sudoku book in her hands). Not mention.... HOME COOKED MEALS!!!!!

And I've already told Chantelle and Adam and they seem excited. Chantelle knows how wonderful our parents are and knows I'll love being close to them again. And Adam would be supportive of anything really. He just loves us all, no matter what!

So, here's the official notice! Christmas will be at my place this year in London (you'll have to excuse the boxes because we're moving right afterwards) and it will be fun. Then off to a new life, a new start, dragging little Jingle with me. We have some resumes out in the Ottawa area now, I know something great will turn up. Just wish us luck! Cheers!

Egg Ramble

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:59:00 +0000

Yeah, that's exactly what this is, a ramble on eggs.

Eggs are much unappreciated really, seriously misunderstood. And yet, they are sooooo good for you!

But they are an odd little thing really. For starters, you need to get past the fact that an egg in a unproduced chicken. EWW!

But, get past that and wow, they are so cool!

They can be used at any meal, not just breakfast. They are delicious, versatile, and an excellent source of protein!

Breakfast, wow, great for breakfast and easy and quick too. It takes about 30 seconds to fry an egg, less time than it takes my toaster to do the toast. And if you're worried fat and calories, put water in the bottom of a non-stick pan instead of butter. It'll keep the eggs from sticking and help you get that nice gooey centre that we all love running into our toast.

Or how about scrambled. What can you NOT do with scrambled eggs. You can have them plain. You can add ham, corned beef, peppers, mushrooms, whatever really and make an omlete. Or westerns! Mmmmm, on toast with ketchup. Yummy! How about adding a little breakfast sausage, some onions and peppers, a little cheese and putting it all into a fresh wrap! Breakfast burrito! Great with coffee on a Sunday morning.

Next time you do a stirfry for dinner, try adding an egg or two to the mix. Eggs add a great flavour, help the rice stick together, and add tons of protein!

Quiche, a highly misunderstood meal, and tasty!

And that's just a few ideas. I know that in Ontario, the Dairy & Poultry associations release countless egg recipies, check your local associations for more. They really are a great addition to any meal. And now with Omega 3 eggs and other varieties, you can get much more from them.

Have fun with eggs people! The eggs will love you for it!

ROFLMAO!!!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 07:21:00 +0000

Some creative genius with way to much time on their hands has created a video that is absolutely hilarious. A take off of an old Muppet's clip, it's redesigned on video game characters from World of Warcraft and chat lingo.

Let's just say, I was ROFLMAOing while watching this. Enjoy!

Halloween!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 05:02:00 +0000

So Halloween is approaching and because many of the people in our night class, including the instructors, are parents, it was decided that we would take the night off and finish the class a week later in December.

So, now I have a free night to spend with the kittens! Question is, what are we going to do? How do you make Halloween fun for cats?

Usually, on Halloween, I curl up with all the snacks you shouldn't eat (you know, that spare bag of candy you picked up for the "trick or treaters" in case you didn't have enough with the first 8000 chocolate bars you bought). I pull out a case of pop, not caring about sugar or calories. I grab my favorite quilt, my best horror movies and I enjoy a night of fear.

But see, Peewee doesn't seem to like horror movies. Jingle doesn't really either but as long as she can hide under the quilt in my lap, she's happy.

So, with only two weeks to go, I need some advice. Enjoy my horror night and scare the crap out of the cats? Or enjoy a night of Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life and Harry Potter and please the "kids"?

Any suggestions?

Jingle and Peewee, part 2...

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 04:38:00 +0000

"Oh where, or where has my sanity gone. Oh where, oh where can it be?"

Oh, what an eventful few days. So lets start with the first night, with Peewee sorting through my fruit bowl at 3am. The ensuing conversation with our father....

"Don't worry honey, Peewee hates bananas, he's just curious."
"Okay Dad, I'll take your word for it."

The next night, I hear Peewee on the counter again in the middle of the night. I ignore it, trusting my father. I wake up the next morning to find a mangled, chewed banana on my kitchen floor. Poor banana. What a brutal death.

Then, there's Jingle, all snuggled up on her pillow at night. Peewee decides "I'm going to curl up the cute chicks on the bed, maybe get a scratch. There's half a bed for me anyway, Jingle only takes up one pillow and that silly human who always kisses me only takes the other half of the bed." So instead of sleeping alone in the living room, he decides to join. He barely lands on the bed and Jingle, only lifting her head up, starts hissing like mad. Peewee promptly turns and runs to the condo in the living room with his tail between his legs. Poor Peewee.

Then, Jingle decides she's going to put yet more toys in the water bowl (after it's 5th cleaning for the day) and this time, instead of just drinking around them like he always does, Peewee puts his paw on the side of the bowl and tips it over to release the toys from their watery grave, then tips the bowl back over to take a drink, forgetting that the water drained with the toys. Poor Me.

I came home from work yesterday and stepped in the door and promptly kicked a decorative tin. The same decorative tins that reside on the top of my kitchen cupboards. Fearing the worst, I step over the tin and head to the kitchen and low and behold, there's three more tins on the floor/counter/sink. Complete with fresh new Peewee dents. Poor tins.

So tonight I come home after my class. It's 10:45pm, I'm exhausted, hungry, and ready for bed. I walk in and find Peewee waiting for me, meowing for a scratch or hug or any kind of attention. Letting me know that after having a mother who stays at home most of the time, it is entirely not okay for me to be gone for 15 hours. Just as I lean down to pet him, Jingle comes bounding around the corner and racing down the hall to greet her mommy and when she gets about 4 feet away from us, Peewee whips around a lets our a hiss that clearly said "Buzz off, she's mine right now." After a moment of shock, Jingle hisses back and stalks away to the bedroom. Poor Jingle.

But now, it's 1am, and I have watched the cats play together, each come up in turns for scratches and rubs on the couch while I chill a little before bed, and kiss each other on the noses. And you know what? All that stuff above? I wouldn't change any of it for the world. That's the stuff that keeps cat lovers on their toes, that makes our pets our kids, family, not just animals.

So bring it on you two! What new event am I going to celebrate and laugh over next time?

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:30:00 +0000

So, Jingle and I had company this weekend. Mom and Dad (Grandpa and Grandma to Jingle) came for the weekend and brought Peewee and Holly. It was so wonderful to have them. They arrived late on Friday and we immediately cracked open the beer and rum. On Saturday, mom and I did some running around, Dad has his own running around to do. Then they left to have dinner with their friends John and Karen to celebrate John's 60th birthday. While they were gone, I had grand plans to watch a great Disney movie that the three "kids" would enjoy but by the time I got halfway through my own dinner, with one cat beside me on the couch sleeping, another on the top of the couch sleeping and yet another in the cat condo, you guessed it, sleeping, I lasted all of another 5 minutes before the infectious sleep took over and before I knew it, the parents were back and the cats hadn't moved. But, you know what? A wonderful nap with the cats was more than needed and totally enjoyable. Even if I couldn't move after being squished onto one half of the couch. Someone please explain to me why a tiny 7lbs cat needs a whole half of a couch to sleep when she fits into a cereal box!

So the parents returned and with mom's help, we fixed a treat for lunch the next day. Since we couldn't be together for Thanksgiving and I knew they wanted to hit the road fairly early so they wouldn't be back too late, I planned a thanksgiving dinner for lunch. A wonderful boiled ham with carrots and potatoes, slow cooked in the crock pot. And I got an Apple Pie and Pumpkin pie for desert. Although the parental units seemed to enjoy it, it delayed their leave as the meal seemed to cause them to both need a nap. But it was worth it.

So they leave, to head to TO to see my sister and her husband, and I turn around to find.... Peewee! They left him behind! So Jingle and I have a new roommate for the next month until we meet again for my birthday!

Okay, okay, we planned it ahead of time, they didn't forget their cat. Everyone needs a little Peewee company every once in a while so we all decided that Peewee would come stay at the resort for a while. Give me some extra company, play with Jingle, get a little break from Holly (okay, give Holly a break from him really). So after a day on our own, I was anticipating broken dishes, half eaten fruit, books on the floor, anything that Peewee could "explore" and get into. Thus, the humour of Peewee. So I come home from work and low and behold........... nothing. Jingle is still asleep on top of the fireplace, and Peewee is still asleep in the condo. Yeesh. I guess the weekend really wore them out. And instead of two cats coming to greet me at the door, I get half open eyes and a look from each saying "Oh, it's you" before promptly returning to sleep.

I'm not worried though. I think after a few days here, the two will get their energy back, start fighting and playing. Go back to pushing each other around for the softest warmest spot on the bed.

So welcome to our home Peewee. Now, the only thing to figure out, is how to keep you around another month until Christmas. But I promise you we'll have fun. Jingle, don't bite Peewee's ear. Peewee! That teacup isn't a toy! Jingle, jumping on Peewee isn't very nice. Peewee, don't eat the bananas!

You know what, I better go sort this out. Cheers!

Dancing With The Stars

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:26:00 +0000

Just wanted to say, I've watched DWTS since the beginning and have seen many wonderful performances, fun, sad, great, wonderful. You name it.

But, I must say, I'm not sure I've seen many dances more elegent than Jane Seymour and Tony dancing the Veniese Waltz to Piano Man. It wasn't a perfect dance and they didn't get the best score, but, Jane Seymour is just so naturally beautiful and elegent and watching her waltz was, in my opinion, breath taking.

Just wanted to say that.

We need more time!!!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:47:00 +0000

Phew! As if Jingle and I weren't busy enough with work. Now, we have more work and a weekly night class too! So this means that we have basically no time to blog.

But, we'll try to catch everyone up.

First off, Happy Thanksgiving to anyone I didn't talk to this weekend.

So yes, work has been crazy, still haven't had a holiday, but hopefully soon I will. But it hasn't been too bad. Work is good. Just need to keep plugging.

And I've started the Dale Carnegie course too. It's a leadership and management course. For the post part, the course is about communication. So each week, we do a series of small speeches and presentations. Not nescessarily about work, just in general. It's a really great course and I'm loving it. Each week the trainers really force you out of your comfort zone. But everyone is very encouraging and so you can't help but feel safe. You know that no matter what, you're not going to be judged and so you feel safe to say anything. So it has been wonderful.

And talk about small world too. Not only is there a wonder girl in the class who happened to attend St. Mary's school with Chantelle and I, who I haven't seen since grade 8 (she was a year behind me), but I found out there is a young man there too who is a friend of Tyler's, my cousin and another man my age who is best friends with Val's brother! I was a little scared at first knowing that these people knew me and considering how open we need to be in the course, but like the others, they are wonderful and completely non-judgmental.

And Jingle of course has been wonderful as always. She is still using the pillow on the bed as her new home, spending most of her nap time and the night there. It's still sweet but I'm still occassionally waking up to find she's turned around and I'm nose to butt with her. And other times, she decides she wants to get closer and move to my pillow and lay against my face. This is usually promptly followed by me waking up in a panic because I'm suffocating. But she means well. But in short. Just is just as happy and bubbly as ever. What a godsend in these stressful times.

So that's us, not really a whole lot to report and we've just been busy, but that is us nonetheless.

Hope everyone else is doing well. It looks like you all have been busy too. Chantelle, I love the new website, I'll get on to post a comment soon.

Love you all!

My gripe with Cartoons!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:53:00 +0000

Okay, so a teeny little bout of insomnia has been keeping me up at night for, oh, just a week, nothing really.

In a desperate attempt to be either bore myself to sleep or keep my sanity, I've been tuning into the Family Channel in the wee hours, one of the few networks that has programming 24 hours rather than infomercials, which tend to keep me awake, or shows that I'm far to embarrassed to watch.

During the last few nights, er mornings, er whatever! I came to a conclusion that I didn't realize actually bothered me this much. And since the Family Channel is 90% Disney, I guess Disney gets picked on.

Who, in cartoon world, gets to decide which animals are allowed to talk and which animals are subject to being pets to other animals?! It's unfair I tell you! And no quoting C.S. Lewis Chantelle, those animals were real, not cartoons.

For example, Goofy, I do love Goofy. But who decided that it was fair for Goofy to wear clothes, have a job, a son (did we ever find out who Max's mother was?), a house, a car, other animal friends, and an ability to talk (well, sort of) and Pluto has to walk on all fours, can only bark and growl, eat gruel, and has to be mastered by a rodent (no offence Mickey). Like, really, is that fair? They're both dogs! Doesn't Pluto ever get jealous having to look at Goofy when he visits?

But that's just one example. There are so many situations where cartoon animals have pets. We wouldn't walk around with naked humans on leashes would we? Well, not normal people and not in public, who knows what happens in some of those wacky clubs. But still, it'd be the same thing wouldn't it?

It's perfectly fine for humans to have pets, as long as we treat them well and love them. But isn't it incredibly degrading for pets to be owned by animals. IT'S CRUELTY I TELL YOU!!!

Jingle would have a panic attack if her owner was a giant mouse!

So there, I said my peace, I may start a movement, or I may get some sleep and regain my sanity. We'll see.

Elizabethtown

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 22:19:00 +0000

This post is really more about a personal wish than the movie, but I figured I better explain the movie a bit.

I originally figured I'd watch the movie purely because it starred Orlando Bloom, but it ended up being a really sweet, very quirky, completely adorable movie. It's basically about a guy, who father passes away, and his journey to retrieve his father's body, plan a funeral and in the meantime, meet the girl of his dreams (Kirsten Dunst). I highly recommend the movie, it's really cute.

So, how does this movie turn into a personal wish? Well, you have to watch the movie to find out the details, but lets just say, it has one of the best funeral memorials I have ever seen. Sadly, I have been to many funerals, but I usually don't find them sad. Yes, I mourn for loved ones, but as my family knows, it's more about celebrating them and their lives to me than it is missing them.

Well, Elizabethtown has a scene, which is the memorial/funeral of the lead characters father. And its exactly what I would want for my own memorial. It became a party, a celebration. The Widow ended up giving a beautiful speech that was more of a comedy act. She ended up dancing and singing and enjoy life. A nephew of the deceased got on stage with his rock band and brought down the house. By the end, everyone was laughing and celebrating and enjoying themselves, and those around them. Okay, so ignore the fact that the whole memorial went down in flames, literally. I wouldn't want a paper dove setting on fire and ending the celebration early. But, the point would be, I wouldn't want people to be sad. Bring in a band, bring in a Karaoke Machine. Serve breaded mushrooms and wine (my family would understand that one). Just be together, remember the good times, not just with me, but every good time in your life. There is a big difference between tears of sadness, and tears of joy. You would all get your time to mourn me in your own way, but together, cry tears of joy. Be Happy! Celebrate.

Now, as I don't plan to have this day come for a great many years, I don't want anyone making plans right now. But as I don't think the internet is going anywhere anytime soon, this will hopefully be here as a reference 70 years from now. (Yup, that'd make me 98, I'm not optimistic enough for 100, so 98 it is). Or maybe a loved one will simply read this and remember this for the future.

The reality is, none of never know when our time is coming, so each moment should be lived to the fullest. That's not always easy, and we all fail at that task sometimes, but it's worth trying. And it's important to be prepared. Not live in fear of dying, but make our wishes known.

That's my wish.

New foods, gotta try it!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 03:04:00 +0000

Okay, so the weekends are my time to let loose and really cook well. You know, make the stuff that takes hours, that you just can't make during the week unless you want to eat at midnight. But, in trying to eat healthy and still have a decent meal during the week, I tend to try things that are quick and easy and see how they well they work out.

Now, I rarely eat beef or steaks, not really my thing, but I'm a constant fan of the Lou's Roast Beef au Jus. Pull it out of the freezer in the morning, nuke for 7 minutes at dinner time and you have a fair serving of beautifully shaved Roast Beef, free of fat and sinue. And a delicious au jus to join it. Boil few potatoes, mash up with my instant garlic potatoe powder (thanks Peewee for buying me that, use it all the time), and cook some veggies and you have a great meal in less that 20 minutes. And if you are only 1 or 2 people, you'll have plenty of meat for Roast Beef Sandwhiches the next morning. Maple Leaf makes a good beef in gravy but I like the Lou's for the au jus. It's lighter and more flexible.

I'm also not really a turkey lover but since it's so good for you, I try to find ways to sneak it in every once in a while. So I found another 10 minute meat. Maple Leaf's Turkey Breast in Sundried Tomato and Oregano Sauce. Yes, it is a decadent as it sounds. And it's a big honking Turkey Breast. You could easily cut this thing up for 4 people and it's only $4.97 at Walmart.

The meat dinners are huge in the stores right now but if you look at the ingredients on the packages, they really are not as bad as you would think. They are not as loaded with preservatives as I thought they would. Any fresh meat is always better but if you can't spend hours roasting a beef yourself during the week, you can rest assured that these will do the trick, just make sure you serve it with some healthy goodies like veggies.

And the final discovery for the past little while. I have officially found the best frozen perogies. Okay, so you can really only eat perogies on days when you're not worried about calorie intake, but every good Ukranian needs perogies occassionally to keep our Ukranian blood flowing. It's a requirement. And they are versatile. But, as anyone who has made them knows, it's not practical to make perogies at home all the time. So to get our fix, we try to find good frozen perogies, which isn't always easy.

Well, again a Walmart invention, I haven't seen them anywhere else yet, there is a brand that truly takes the cake. Cheemo Perogies. They come in 2kg bags for $3.97 (not bad if you ask me) and they are extremely flexible for cooking. Stuffed to the brim, they boil very well for your traditional butter and onions meal, they fry perfectly, and for a special treat, wrap them with butter and margarine in tinfoil and bbq them. Mmmm, yummy.

So there you go, so new food ideas for you all (unless you've already tried these or don't have a walmart to buy them at).

Jingle, again...

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 02:55:00 +0000

Okay, I think we've left the birthday wishes up long enough, I'm sure my father has seen it by now, so now, back to blogging.

So Jingle has a new thing for sleeping lately. It appears that the bed is just now enough for her for sleeping. Now, she has decided that she needs to sleep on the pillow. It's quite cute actually, and quite nice to wake up with her adorable face and loving eyes right in my face (unless she's facing the other way, then I wake up really quickly). Only problem... the pillow is starting to get a permanent groove in it that I can't seem to fluff out, and now I need to wash my sheets every day or so. It was fine when it was just me on the sheets, I don't shed much, but now, after a day, I have one very furry pillowcase and some slightly ruffled sheets. There goes my hydro bill. Cold Water Tide, here we come, save the day!

Again, its actually quite cute, but before, I at least had hope that Jingle would settle for sleeping between me and my yet-unmet-future-husband. Now that she needs a whole pillow to herself, I'm either going to need a Kingsize bed with lots of pillows, or I'm going to be sleeping alone for the rest of my life.

Someone said to me the other day, "why did you ever let her on the bed, now she'll never leave and she'll control the bed". Well, to that person, all I can say is, even though I may gripe a little about Jingle's control over the bed, I couldn't imagine it any other way. It just wouldn't be the same if she slept in the living room all night long.

So there is my new little Jingle thing. Man, do I love that cat!

Happy Birthday to Granpa!!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 04:34:00 +0000

So mommy has gone to bed and I finally get another chance to write my own blog. Today was grandpa's (mommy's Dad's) birthday! I got a chance to wish him a happy birthday on the phone yesterday as mommy called him, but I wanted to officially put it in writing.

So happy birthday Grandpa, I hope Holly and Peewee spoiled you on your special day!

And here's to many more birthdays!

Love you,
And mommy loves you too, but she's asleep right now and can't say that for herself.

Jingle

Wishlist!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 04:28:00 +0000

So many many people are trying to come to terms with the expected release date of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on DVD.

The date has been announced, revoked, announced again and then completely unknown.

As our pals at Wonderday.ca announced in one of their blogs, the newest rumour is that the release will be November 12th of this year.

I'm only going to say one thing about this: If this is true, and this is the release date, it's awfully close to a certain bloggers birthday. HINT, HINT, HINT!!!

And if anyone doesn't understand that, or get the hint, then I give up and no one really knows me.

Goodnight all of you!

Jingle has a crush!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:50:00 +0000

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?

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:19:00 +0000

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!

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 03:53:00 +0000

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....

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:47:00 +0000

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

saxyt7@hotmail.com ("Jingle") — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 22:19:00 +0000

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.