Happy Friday!

Sammy tolerating Zeta joining him in his basket. Sorry for the blur, but it was too sweet not to share!!

I promise, no more cat stories, for at least a week!!

Have a great weekend!!

Beautiful Beach Bubbles

Hate to be a little video-centric this week, but this was so cool I just had to share:

Giant Stinson Beach Bubbles (Canon 550D)

Grateful Dance

I have spent a good part of the past few days in a deep funk, despite the bright light provided by the new addition to our family. Zeta is a sweetheart!

Constantly on  the brink of tears, I’ve been an emotional basket case. It’s not one thing, but many things. Things haven’t changed this morning, but I did have a long heart to heart with a friend last night and she told me some things that I needed to hear. Tears again, but good ones.

I am grateful for friends who care, who see me for me and who love me, despite the protective walls that I try to keep so firmly in place. I am grateful for my daughter, who made me laugh this morning. Yes, there are many things to be grateful for today.

Coincidentally, a friend posted this video on Facebook today. It made me smile, so I’m passing it along:

The Original Gratitude Dance
The GratiDudes

You can’t watch that video with out being reminded of the awesome Where the Hell is Matt? videos (love these!!):

Where the Hell is Matt?

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

Zeta Update

After a few stressful days of “introducing” the cats, things have finally started to feel more normal around here. They play a lot, they share their food dishes, they rest when needed. They follow each other around the house…it is very cute!! As far as I know, they don’t sleep together, but I did catch this:

Sammy and Zeta

Sorry for the poor quality, I don’t own a video camera and the only thing I had near me was my trusty cell phone.

Sammy just loves that basket! Zeta has taken a liking to curling up in it too…so far this hasn’t caused any conflicts!!

Your Permission Slip

From Danielle LaPorte of White Hot Truth (check it out!)

your permission slip from the universe

I’ve got the Goddess of Permission on speed dial and she was thrilled to oblige with this sweeping list of acts of self expression and liberation. We can draw on it whenever we need. Come back often. Build on it. The Permission Goddess sends kisses and high-fives.

you have permission to

: not finish reading books that you’re not really enjoying. Don’t force it, close it.
: walk out of movies that suck (and hey, if you leave in the first twenty minutes, you can get your money back.)
: let it go to voicemail (especially during dinner, or snuggling, or watching So You Think You Can Dance?)
: give birthday gifts anytime of the year (which means you can be late or early and you can give yourself time to find just the right gift.)
: talk shit about WalMart (even if they do have the economic power of a small country.)
: cut the obligations cords that are driven by guilt.
: pursue your own agenda.
: own next to nothing, live on a mattress, read and write and make love all day with no other responsibilities
: return crappy products to their crappy manufacturers (because you can vote with your dollars.)
: leave your current business model so you can go do something bigger than you
: tell your kids when you think that something an authority figure told them is bullshit (you need to be in solidarity with your child, not the so-called grown ups.)
: quit your job, even if you just started two weeks ago, or just got a raise, or are seemingly indispensable.
: get yourself off even, if you have a partner.
: have some secrets.
: cut out the elements of your business that you don’t totally LOVE. The parts that 90% of the time make you say, “WHY am I doing this? I don’t WANT to do this.”
: give away/recycle/get rid of stuff, stuff, stuff sentimental stuff that special people gave you (your home is for you, not them); stuff that doesn’t make you feel good even, if you spent a lot of money on it; stuff that has intense memories attached to it; stuff!
: say no to “free” stuff, like swag bags at fancy events and novelty erasers and pom-pom pens from the bank. (Because the only thing in life that’s free is love.)

you have permission to

: fail, and fail again.
: to succeed, wildly, more than your neighbors, more than your folks, more than you thought was possible.
: be rich and “spiritual”
: be broke AND generous
: leave work early, get some ice cream, and sit in the hot tub at the gym
: charge what you’re worth
: focus more on creating your soul job and less on finding a ho’ job.
: sleep! sleep in, nap, sleep.
: earn a living knitting for charity.
: relax. To let go of the growing to-do list in your head. To release the need to get it “just right.”
: to dance 
: go bra-less or underwear free.
: give it all to charity.
: check your email whenever the hell you want.
: start now, without the degree, without the funding, without knowing exactly where you’re going.
: sell your house to afford a big trip to India (a friend of mine did just that, no regrets.)
: walk away.
: fall in love.
: eat dessert first.

you have permission to : not ever feel the need for permission.

Thank you, Rosemary, for sharing this. I needed it this week!

Ugh!

I was sitting at the vet’s office with Zeta yesterday, when I happened to spy this poster:

So, at year 7 the pets begin to develop diseases common to their senior human counterparts. Okay.

Next to that was the chart, comparing  cat years to human years (the dog chart was similar, but a little more complicated involving weight):

Um. Excuse me?!?!

My “senior years” started two years ago?!! Someone should have said something!!

Seriously.

Oh, and Zeta is officially all boy and seems to be in good health. Now it’s a matter of getting the cats to get along. That would make me very happy!!

Zeta Kitten

Starr moved back to the sorority house last Friday, classes haven’t started yet, but the girls are very busy preparing for fall recruitment. Their schedules are packed! She said, “don’t count on seeing me until your birthday, I’ve scheduled the night off so that we can spend some time together!”

That’s cool!

So I was a little surprised when I received a text message from her yesterday. “Can you come pick up a stray kitten??” Ya, sure. I grabbed the cat carrier and headed to the sorority house. The girls were lined up at the front door practicing one of their greeting/recruitment songs. Starr ran the cat out to the car and quickly headed back to get back to work.

I haven’t invaded its privacy too much, but I am thinking…boy.  Maybe. “He” doesn’t have a collar, is thin (he ate like a maniac when offered food), he has junk stuck to his fur and is as sweet as can be. Beautiful too!! The (crappy cell phone) picture doesn’t show it, but those eyes are a brilliant icy blue. I’ve fallen in love.

Starr called me later to fill me in. Apparently some of the members of the fraternity across the street found the kitten (I am guessing around 12 weeks old?) somewhere and proceeded to dump it on the lawn of Starr’s sorority house.

I’ve looked through all the lost pet lists that I can find and am headed to the vet this morning to have him/her scanned for a micro chip. In the meantime, Sammy (my resident cat) is very curious, but Zeta kitten is scared, so I’ve kept them separated.

We will see what today brings!!

You Are Beautiful!

the beauty of different: is everyone REALLY beautiful?

The Beauty of Different

The Beauty of Different by Karen Walrond

Dragonfly’s Favorites: This Window Frame

I found it at a garage sale. I didn’t have a clue in the world what I would do with it, but I had to have it.

As a quick fix, I printed out some pictures that I thought might go with it and Scotch taped them to the back. I added a hanging wire and it has stayed that way for years. I like it!!

It is flawed. I like that.

It fits right in with all my other collected items!!

Runaround Monday

Monday is almost over and it’s been one of those days! I feel like I’ve been running. I know that I got a lot done (I have evidence!), but I also still feel way behind.

Starr has been so busy with her job as recruitment chair for her sorority that she hasn’t had time to pack and get ready to move. I’m not worried, it will happen, whether we are prepared or not!

My favorite song this week–thought I would share it here too:

mp3: “Write it All Down For You” – Elliott Brood
Buy: Mountain Meadows from the band
Elliott Brood Website
Elliott Brood-MySpace

And this article made my day:

JetBlue attendant slides down emergency chute after fight with passenger

Police arrested a JetBlue flight attendant today at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport after he got into a verbal altercation with a passenger and then fled the scene by sliding down the plane’s emergency evacuation chute.

It all happened as the plane pulled into the gate at JFK after what had been a routine flight from Pittsburgh. But shortly after landing, a passenger stood up as the plane was taxiing to the gate and began removing his bags from the overhead bin. According to the Wall Street Journal’s Sean Gardiner, the flight attendant, identified as Steven Slater, asked the passenger to return to his seat.

A “heated” exchange ensued, which culminated in Slater walking to the rear of the plane, where he grabbed the intercom. “To the passenger who called me a motherf***er, f*** you!” Slater yelled, passengers tell the New York Daily News. “I’ve been in the business 28 years. I’ve had it. That’s it.” He activated the emergency chute and slid away.

Slater then walked along the jetway into the terminal, where he took a shuttle to the employee parking lot. Observers watched as he ripped off his JetBlue tie and threw it to the ground. Slater got into his vehicle and drove to his home in Queens. According to the New York Times’ Ray Rivera, he was arrested shortly afterward and faces charges of criminal mischief and trespassing.

A source tells WNBC that Slater was “having a bad day.”

I would like to buy that guy a drink!!

And now it actually IS Tuesday, so I’m going to press “publish” and call it a post!