Inspiration Quote...

In light of all thats is currently happening in CA politically, this quote I felt was very appropriate.

"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent." - Marilyn vos Savant

Trying to figure out why my cat talks so much...

As I shared in an earlier post, Puckk passed away earlier this year. A couple weeks later, we adopted a beautiful gray, long-haired kitten whom we named Boo. My husband wasn't too thrilled with another cat, but he wanted a little boy to play with (he said he didn't feel right rough-housing with the girl kitties ... *shrugs*). Boo is growing up into a very gorgeous cat.

Anyhoo, my friend who fosters kittens until they're ready for adoption (and who we got Monster and Boo from) came to me a couple weeks later asking if I wanted another kitten. Shortly after she turned Boo over to us, she got five kittens that had been abandoned at the shelter. The person who left them there had piled the five kittens into a box with their mother ... the mother's neck was broken. She referred to the kitten as "dipstick" because it looked as if someone had lifted him up and dipped his rear into a can of black paint just till the tip of his tail. When they shaved him to fix him, there was a perfect line down the middle of his sack, one black, the other white. We chuckled about this for a few days.

Well, I had to work my husband around to accepting another cat. He said he didn't want us to become the "crazy cat couple" because this would bring our tally up to four. Eventually he gave in and we adopted another boy kitty. We struggled with a name and I ended up letting him choose. At first his name was Chauncey (the nickname for a demon in Fool Moon by Jim Butcher, a Dresden Files novel). I tried to work my way around the name, but it wasn't working for me. During this time, the kitten was starting to show us signs of his personality. He had figured out the stairs within hours (took the other kittens a couple days) and was already sleeping with us the first night. Then at like 2am, he woke me up by yowling in my face. I couldn't get him to stop. I finally got fed up, picked him up and took him downstairs. When I placed him on the ground he went straight for the food bowl. I shrugged and went back to bed.

The following day we were downstairs watching TV and he was sitting on my lap purring. He then looked up and started yowling again. Remembering the previous time he did this, I picked him up and put him near the food bowl. He went to the water dish for a drink. He did this to me two more times that afternoon. Finally my husband commented that we should have named him lazy bones... and so he became Bones.

And so now the reason for the lead in ... We've now had him for about 2 or 3 months and he STILL wakes me up by yowling in my face. So this morning I did some googling and came across some interesting things. The first of which was:

Love Songs
Cats are expressing their affection when they use a call that sounds like a high pitched meow mixed with their purring. Queens use it to call their young; males use it when approaching a female in heat; and altered cats will use it to call their masters when the cat is lonely. For humans, use the tip of your tongue to "roll your R´s" combined with a "high, low, high" vocalization with a sing song quality.

I can tell you he's not lonely, there are two other cats piled on me when he's sleeping on me. All I can guess is that he's expressing his love because he is purring at the time he's yowling (and I say yowling instead of meowing because it is a high pitched meow).

I guess we just got a talker. None of our other cats meow that much; although Gwyn's little conversations when she first wakes up are cute. It's like she's telling us about the dream she just had.

The Sims 3 - Official Star Trek Teaser

Star Trek Fans and Sims fans need to check this out!

Health Humor

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it...don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually.  Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer?  Take a nap. 

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies.  What does a cow eat?  Hay and corn. And what are these?  Vegetables.  So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system.  Need grain?  Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake? 
A: No, not at all.  Wine is made from fruit.  Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way.  Beer is also made out of grain.  Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry.  My philosophy is:  No Pain...Good!

Q: Isn't fried food bad for you? 
A:  YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! ...Food is fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it.  How could getting more vegetables be bad for you? 

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not!  When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach. 

Q:  Is chocolate bad for me? 
A:  Are you crazy? HELLO, Cocoa beans!  Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q:  Is swimming good for your figure? 
A:  If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q:  Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle? 
A:  Hey!  'Round' is a shape! 

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember:
'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of  arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved  body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO  HOO, What a  Ride' 

AND...

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION

Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.