Dear Coffee, I think we need to take a break.

It's not you, it's me.

In throwing myself into a raw diet, I've had to confront and deal with a very serious addiction. Coffee.  Going throughout my day without cooked foods, no biggie. Getting through the first twenty minutes of my day without coffee? Extremely difficult.
  But its not just the raw diet that is making me reconsider my relationship with the cup.  If I were to break down how much money I spent on coffee on a yearly basis, I'd probably feel kind of sick.  When I worked as a decorative painter, I made pathetic money and often didn't eat lunch while I was on the job as a reflection of my money situation. That being said, you best believe I picked myself up a Grande Soy Misto from Starbucks on my way to work every day. No matter what. Even though I had probably already had a cup of coffee from my own coffee pot at home.
  Besides the blow to my pocket book, I'm concerned about what it's actually doing to my insides. And because I am obviously a freak about what goes in and how it might affect me, it's time for me to do something thats long over due.

Dear Coffee,

    You're probably wondering why I haven't called in a few days.  Listen, I don't know how to say this...it's just that, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. A lot of thinking about us and our relationship, what we do for one another, how we spend our time together, and I just...See we've been together for a really long time. On and off in fact, for years.
  I remember when I was in high school and I would always come and pick you up at the  7/11. I'd fill you up with all sorts of deliciously flavored creamers.  Remember how we would mix it up? We had the 'Irish Creamer' and the 'Hazelnut'....oh and how could I forget the 'French Vanilla'?  Remember how I used to distinguish you from all my friends cups by sipping you out of one of those little stirring straws? I just wanted you to last....
  We would get together a couple times of day way back when. I'd pick you up before school. And then I'd come and grab you again after school. I have a lot of good memories of you from back in the day. You gave me a reason to get in my car and go do something. Any time of day, we'd go for a drive together, we'd run errands together.  I'd meet up with people, just to then meet up with you.  You gave me a life, coffee.
  Then I went to college and our relationship changed a little bit. I was so far away from the 7/11, so we moved onto Starbucks. Sometimes I'd even go get you in a cool funky coffee place, or from a street vendor. We were a little touch and go at times. That first year in NY, you know its funny, but coffee just wasn't as big a priority for me. I knew you were my crutch, and I was just trying to grow up. Be my own Hayley. I mean, if memory serves, we still spent a lot of time together. But it was an off year for sure.
  And then I moved to Providence. What a roller coaster, you and me. Remember my Sophomore year? When I had the one cup coffee mate and I made you all the time? It was just so easy, you were always available, I had no friends there so I was really bored and I needed you. Remember how we would stay up all night long? I don't even remember what we were doing, but gosh, we were doing it together.  Thank god I had you, coffee. I know, I'm sorry I have to do this. Its when I look back to those times that it becomes so hard to do this....
Anyway, we went on like that all throughout college. Senior year was a bit touch and go for us(all we had was a french press, you know how I feel about those things), until I realized that a really cute guy worked at the Coffee Exchange, and we were back on like we never were before. You gave me a reason to talk to cute guys, and I like really, really appreciated that.  I'd walk down and meet you at the coffee shop, and we'd read a book and you'd help me wash down my snack, and I'd people watch and you'd help me write papers, and it was really really great. Those were the days man.  We were in our prime, you and me. I thought we'd live like that forever.
   So here we are, a few years later and since then we've had our ons and our offs.  And listen I know you don't want to hear it and you always always fight me on it, but I really just need to take a break from you. A long one. Maybe we won't even get back together. I can't guarantee anything. No, please...stop it coffee. You know I want you. Shhhhh. Can't you see this is killing me? I love you too its just...just stop it. No seriously. Stop. Stop it. St. Stt..Sttt...Stttop...Stop it. Don't touch me. 





 

My Juicy Diet

I'm not shy about the fact that I tend to go for very extreme diet plans.  I've been all over the extreme diet spectrum. When I was 16 my entire family(minus my little brother who has an envious ability to shovel in Burger King and only Burger King and never gain a pound) went on the Atkins Diet. I lost a lot of weight, mostly because the diet was so weird that eventually I just stopped eating. When I realized again that I had free will, I quickly gained the weight back. Fast forward five years and I've turned into the nemesis of Dr. Atkins, a vegan. I did the militant vegan thing for a while, and have modified my diet since by adding in fish and the occasional dairy slip up. I still don't eat cheese. Cheese? Who even cares. 

  And in that time of militant veganhood I ventured into raw territory. I was never so nutty as the call myself a raw foodist, however, I did work in a high end raw vegan restaurant in the north end of Boston for a brief spell and most certainly ate an almost completely raw diet for a period of about 3 to 4 months. It amazes me that I ever stopped because I felt so good, light and happy. I was almost certain when I was in the midst of it, that I would never want to stop. That I had found my new way of being.  Working at the restaurant meant that I brought home all sorts of raw goodies that I neither had the time or equipment to make at home. Being a whole hog serious raw foodist requires some serious and expensive appliances. A high speed blender, juicer and a dehydrator are the essentials, and then you get into the fancy knives and food processors and mandolins and nut bags. When I worked at the raw food restaurant, our patrons would make jokes about how the food should be coming out quicker, its not like the chefs had to cook any thing! Were there even chefs back there?  And whether or not the food tasted good was so up to the individual. I for one loved most of the dishes, but thought that some of them tasted like straight up grass and dirt.  Other people might try everything on the menu and be totally grossed out.

But me, I like raw food.

  My coworker and I got on the subject of the raw food diet this past Friday and it got me thinking back to that time that I felt really good and really like what I was eating. After work on Friday I did the super markets run (I can never go to just one) and ended up picking up an insane amount of raw fruits and vegetables. I then went home and began to do my research, looking up why to do raw and juices to make. All of the sudden, I was hooked.

And then I realized that we have three juicers. Three? I have an old one of my mom's thats like enormous and scary looking and I had yet to use it, ever. And now I come to find out that my meat and potatoes boyfriend owns two juicers? It was like a sign. Juice, Hayley. Juice.
 So my juicing odyssey has begun! And my coworker and I have agreed to do raw up until dinner every day this week. I've gotten through day one. Next week, we might try going really extreme and doing whole days. We'll see how this week goes.

Here are my ups and downs to the raw vegan diet:

Down Side ----> Expensive.
This is obviously a down side to the raw vegan diet. At a time when it would be wise for me to not be spending so much freaking money on food, to be spending just a little more on food that just barely fills me seems a bit ludicrous. I'm hoping to balance this out by not drinking.

Not Sure Side-----> Not Drinking.
I can't decide if this is an up or a down side. Right now, its Monday night and I'd really like to celebrate this particular Monday night, like many of the Monday nights before it, with a glass of wine. Let it be said that I, and no one else, is making me feel obliged to not drink while doing this raw food stunt. I don't really care if wine is raw or not. I'm not going to go my whole life without it, but I figure, if you're going to do your body a solid, try to not drink while doing it. I hope my body is listening. I will probably crack tomorrow. If not sooner.

Down Side --------> The weather outside makes me want to eat crap.
This is a much easier diet to start in August than it is in March. It started snowing today. My salad followed by my green juice and my blood orange did not make me feel any better about the snow that was falling all over the place, reminding me that I'm cold, and that my food is cold, and that its totally not what I wanted to eat.

Up Side -------> My skin is kinda glowing
 No lie! My skin is more orangey than usual. Its probably because of the 40 carrots I had to juice to make one glass of carrot juice yesterday.

Down Side ------> My pee smells different.

Up Side ---------> My pee smells different.

Up Side ---------> I do not feel bad about eating a whole avocado all at once.
Did you know that an avocado has at least one million calories in it? Yeah for some reason I don't think that matters when you're on the raw diet.  So I'm gonna eat the heck out of avocados.

Up Side ---------> Juice is delicious
For serious. Juice is like really really yum yum. And yet, I've always felt bad about drinking juice out of those bottles that you buy at the store. They have sugar in them. This makes me sad. But when you're juicing your own juices, there is no sticker on the back of your bottle to tell you how many calories or sugars are in your juice, which means that there must be none.

Down Side ----------> Sometimes juice isn't delicious.
  I'm trying to get into green juices.  I'm slowly getting myself into a serious green juice. I don't know if I'm down with drinking something that straight up tastes like grass and leaves.  But I've been putting kale into my morning fruit smoothies, and it turns it green without making it taste very green. Does that count as a green smoothie? Probably not.

Down Side ------> Juicing takes forever
and ever and ever and ever. No lie. To make about 24 ounces of juice yesterday, I juiced 2 large cucumbers, a pound of carrots, most of a large carton of straw berries, 5 apples, and whole bag of spinach. And it took a long ass time.

Up Side ---------> Eating your meals through a straw is easy.
 Having a stressful day? Don't have time to sit down with a good old fork and knife and laboriously cut your tiny or large bites of something delicious and rewarding?  Don't let eating ruin your work productivity any more! Throw it in a blender and hit blend you time wasting fool! I don't even need to look at my food to eat it anymore. I just whistle it down the hatch while I write my emails and answer the phones.  Easiest way to eat your lunch ever. Get yourself a fun straw or something. Liquid lunch is sooo cool.  But I recommend it be raw foods. I have a feeling chicken parmesan is not going to do well in blended form.

Down Side --------> People will think you are a weirdo.
This needs zero explanation as I assume that most of you already thought I was big weirdo for even having a reason to write about the raw food diet, let alone put myself through one.

Down Side -------> Caffeine and sugar withdrawal
  I hit a point today where my caffeine withdrawal symptoms were so sucky that I could barely talk. This has nothing to do with the raw diet and all to do with the fact that I've become completely addicted to drinking coffee all day and every day. At least 3 cups a day, if not more. That can't be good for you, so I endured the pain of the massive searing all head encompassing throbbing that took over me this afternoon. I did take two advil. They were not raw. And I did not care.

Up Side -------> Raw diet will help you break bad habits
Like drinking coffee, a bottle of wine a day, chewing gum, and soda.

The Up Side....
When all is said and done, I will feel better for having done this. It's cleansing, healthy, and will ultimately help me break all the craptastic habits that have slowly been creeping back into my once immaculate diet. And I might lose a pound or two. Here's to hope!

International Woman's Day

It's International Woman's Day

So I've been reading some blogs today and I've mostly been getting the "Yay! It's woman's day! It sucks to be a woman for blah blah blah reasons and I'm so happy to be reminded of it!" Well you know what? Fuck that noise. Being a girl kicks ass.

I have grown up always knowing that being a woman is an incredibly special thing. You can chalk it up to my mom, a woman who (perhaps like many of your mothers) grew up in a world where choosing to wear pants to school was tantamount to initiating an an anti war rally at your high school today. She instilled in me two very important qualities very early on in life; compassion, which is second to nothing, and a strong and well supported belief that the female gender is absolutely nothing short of the male gender. Especially when it comes to intelligence.

And so off I grew up, always believing, and, well knowing, that woman are essentially much smarter than men.   I know that might sound aggravating to many of you. I know plenty of my readership are men, and I love you. I love you so much in fact. And its not that I think that woman are smarter than men because we have more developed brains, or bigger brains, or anything like that. It's just that, woman know things that men don't.

So I grew up always believing woman were right. And I still do, for the most part.  But I also know this: Woman are cray cray. And its with good reasoning. We have been (divinely) endowed with the glorious position of motherhood and a strong, instinctual regard for life, consideration for safety, survival of our kin and babies, and a general concern for home decor and fashion.

Seriously! Think about it.  Not only are we in charge of making sure the household (or the family unit) is under wraps and headed in the right direction for more prosperous reproduction and caring for our own off spring, we are also absurdly concerned with the way it appears, looks, and comes off to other people, or tribes, or whatever. That can drive a girl crazy, for sure. This isn't about how the rugs match the curtains (heh) or how the candle sticks look with the flower arrangements, its about a general appearance of "'oh, that woman has got it together'...sister friend then cups her hands around her mouth and yells in the other woman's direction 'you go girl!'."

I understand and respect that many of you right now think I am taking this in the wrong direction. Like, good job dude...You have gone from having a serious conversation about girl power and all of the sudden you're talking about home decor. How progressive!  But seriously, woman have a right to be concerned about this shit. I know I am. Every time someone comes over I run around like a chicken with my head cut off, cleaning every surface, folding every throw blanket, lighting every candle, hiding everything that I deem inappropriate to have just hanging around in the common areas. It's hard when you begin to acknowledge that certain things are a 'woman's job', and no matter how annoying it seems, we as woman are likely to fall into it.

Kind of like how men will fall victim to taking out the garbage.

Which is okay with me. Certain things are a man's job.  Taking out the garbage is totally one of those jobs in my opinions. And I don't give a fuck what you think about it, dude.

I grew up considering myself a tom boy, which is nothing special in my opinion.  But because I was an awkward kid growing up, didn't have many girl friends, only really connected with the boys, it was just my place. Which is a good thing, because it made me an excellent little worker for my father. A young artist who was not afraid to get dirty and perhaps break a nail or get scraped up (my first summer I worked with a broken hand in a cast, for instance), it was no surprise when I started working for my dad. I began when I was 13 and kept it up till I was in college. I would work school breaks, summer breaks, whenever was a good a time for me to get in there and make a few bucks. Because while my mom taught me an appreciation for love and compassion, my dad taught me an appreciation for money. And holy shit do I love money. About as much as I love compassion. And thats saying a lot. Cause I love the shit out of compassion.

So I've spent a lot of my life working around men. I even went on to take a decorative painters position up here in MA. I held onto that job for year, which gave me all sorts of wonderful experience in working with men.

This is where I can deduce, with nothing but complete certainty, that men are kind of idiots.

I say kind of, because I love men. I love you.  And I know that we woman are idiots, too, sometimes. But men, you boys...you're something else!

Ladies - how many of you have been privy to the inside outs of construction site? Where you are the lone girl amongst as many as two dozen men at any time...before you begin to fantasize about how awesome this might be (and don't get me wrong, it has its moments : ) ), understand that men who aren't used to being around woman at work act like IDIOTS. And I'm not saying this as someone who has just merely been on a construction site once or twice. I have done months at a time, working for both my father and the decorative paint company, working on big constructions sites. Its a shit show. And it is quite clear to me why most men won't hire woman to work for them, it ain't worth it. Having a woman on site means trouble.  And it's not the womans fault. Men can't handle it. MEN CANT HANDLE IT. AND I REFUSE TO THINK ANY DIFFERENTLY ABOUT THIS. CAPITOL LETTERS MOTHER FUCKER. YAH HEAR ME?

It's just that, gosh dudes. Can't you just try and ignore that men and woman 'go together.' Can't we just be equals? Can't we just work side by side? Can't you just look at me and for one minute without an ounce of irony just think to yourself 'you go girl!'

I've gotten a little off track. I wanted to talk about how awesome it is being a girl. So I'm going to back track now. I guess I just needed to my moment to complain. Oops. My B. Lets be awesome now.

Being a woman means that (hopefully) you have great woman friends. And this is up to you. Be a great lady, or a great human being in general, and you can attract great girls to your side. Great ladies are your number one asset in life. Currently I have more good girl friends than I have ever had in my life before, and I am benefitting big time because of it. Hopefully you are lucky enough to have a great mom, or otherwise you are lucky enough to have an incredible Aunt, or Grandma, or friend of your family, sister, or best female friend that will play the part. Do Not Be a girl that is too cool for school. Girl friends are where it is at. Forget the boys. They are cute but they are fleeting. Collect your girls. Treat them well. Honor them.

Girls are smart. We are born into this world with many sets of innate skills. We know how to care for ourselves and people. We come pre installed with incredible amounts of intuition, love, compassion and devotion to those around us. Don't be afraid to cultivate these traits.

Girls are given all the gifts that men are given, but we are unfortunately persuaded to not cultivate them the way boys are. Be strong. Be physical and active. Be scientific and mathematical. Don't let society dictate the kind of person you will be. Perseverance makes us strong. We have had a shit storm of human history against our progress, and we are better people for it.
Because even in the face of all that sucks about womanhood, I love being a girl. Even when I have my period. Even when I am bloated by said period beyond belief. Even when I am getting cat called. Even when I take a moment to think about how far my mothers generation has had to come to be where they are, making 80 cents for every mans dollar. Even when I am the victim of lame ass but effective advertising for women. Even when I am camping and can't just easily take a piss out doors. Even when I was on a job site and I'd have to use the same god damn port-o-johns that all the men do (even though thats technically ILLEGAL). Even when I am not given my due rights. Even when I am treated as unequal.  Even when I was constantly insulted by other contractors on jobs who assumed I didn't know what the fuck I was doing, even though I had way more experience in my given trade than they have ever had. Even when I am probably going to be penalized and disadvantaged in my career for being selfish enough to have my own children. Even when my own government decides that I do not have the right to decide my own fate when it comes to family planning. Even when my government wants to control what I do with my womb, but doesn't care or want to help me when my child is out of the womb.
Even when I know I getting stared at and gazed at when I don't want to. Even when I know that men are not taking me seriously, for whatever unfounded reason. Even when I feel like I am being judged for my looks more than my intelligence. Even when I know and understand about what happens to less fortunate woman in other countries all over the world at this very moment. Even when I know that we have existed for as long as our male counterparts and have just barely begun our ascension towards greatness. Even when I know that there have been 44 male American presidents but no woman presidents in the 'alleged' greatest country in the world. Even when I know that we have to work so much harder and have to prove so much more just to be considered equal.

I love being a woman.

And I wouldn't trade it for anything. And I hope that the woman I alluded to in less fortunate places can say the same thing. There is something eternally excellent and beautiful about being female. The experience of being feminine is special. Of being aware of the woman before me. Of understanding that every generation of woman before me has paved a way for me to be who I am. Of being connected to a body that essential to the progression of our species. Of breast and vaginas, hips and soft skin. Of looking in the mirror and hopefully finding a way to love yourself and your body, no matter what the cues and hints from cultural bullshit.  Of knowing how bad ass it is to not let anyone else get you down, or going above expectations like it ain't no big thang.  Of being tough, and rugged, and self sufficient and hardcore. Of never even thinking twice about what you will and can do in your life.

And I will continue to always believe we are equal. I am so proud and happy to have been brought up in a world(my world, or a bubble, or an idealistic microcosm, what have you) that has always praised woman and chosen to look at our innate and very palpable abilities as well as our accomplishments. I have always been raised as a capable and complete human being. And I happen to be a chick. Does that make sense?


Thanks Mom.

             Did you know there is a Rosie the Riveter High School in California? Its an all girls trade school. So cool.

Cats, Cats & More Cats

Just thinking about cats makes me happy.

I can waste hours watching those stupid youtube videos about cats. I once watched the same video of a little orange kitten jumping from a table and greatly under estimating how far of a jump the banister bar was from him like 3 dozen times in a row. And I died every time. Or the video of the two kittens that have some narcoleptic problem and turn stiff as a board and fall over every 30 seconds, no matter what they are doing...hilarious. How about the really fat cat that gets a running start on the linoleum floor and throws himself into an open box, so that his head and his two front legs are sticking out one end of the box, and his back legs and tail the other end of the box? What will those nutty Korean cats think up next? There's seriously something about Korean cats. They're true comedians.

I was born into this wacky world a cat person. When I was 7 years old my parents had the great idea that we needed to have a pet. We collectively decided a cat would suit us perfectly, so off we went to the North Shore Animal League to get our very own kitty face.

Neither of my parents had ever had a cat of their own, which was obvious, even to a 7 year old.  When we were driving home and decided to let our new little guy, Tyler, out of his carrier box to roam the car, it became crystal clear that we had a lot to learn about these furry little creatures.  There is nothing more disconcerting than being in a car with a cat trying to make a bed between the break pedal and the floor of the car.  This was our first very important lesson in cat ownership.

We've had many cats since. I'm a bit reluctant to really get into all of the details of our history with cats, not because we've done anything wrong, but because having cats, and pets in general, is a bit of a crap shoot. Our first cat, Tyler, moved down the street and into someone else's house.  Besides the fact that it was home to Tyler's best friend in the whole hood, Garfield, the house also happened to have a very inviting cat door and better food to boot.  I tell you this with complete confidence that Tyler did in fact move down the street, this wasn't some lie that my parents told my brother and I as a means of letting us down easily about the cat passing away.  He legitimately took his life into his own paws and decided to try something new.  34 Vineyard Road wasn't cutting it for him anymore. He moved on.  When Garfield got hit by a car ten years ago, Tyler decided to get the hell out of dodge, so he packed his little cat belongings and scampered off into the sunset, most likely settling for a split level ranch with a comfy couch a few streets over.  He was a good looking cat with a solid personality. Not too friendly, but nice enough to muscle his way into your bed.  Sound familiar ladies? Typical man cat. When he decided to move in on your life, there was just no stopping him. And when he was done, gone, like the wind he blew in with. Its now been 18 years since we first brought him to the neighborhood. Tyler has likely moved onto the big cat bed in the sky.

We've had cats disappear. We've had unusual and unexpected illnesses shake the very foundation of our cat lives. We have slaved for our cats (well, my Mom did at least). We've put cats down, too. All told we've had 9 little lives walk through our doors over the years. Many have thrived, but some were just not meant for this world. I do not think that this turn over of cats is at all a poor reflection of the type of pet owners we are. We just like to give our animals all the freedoms they deserve, and needless to say, our quiet residential street seems to have become busier over the years. Cat doors and an out door world to play in, plenty of food, a plethora of couches, cat beds and people beds to sleep in...our cats have it good. Plus, we adore the shit out of them. If I were a cat, I'd want to live at my parents house.

It is important that I note now that I am very much allergic to cats. Yes, this is where this blog post goes from happy shining love fest to a sadder, more dark place.  I love animals, cats in particular, but I love dogs, too.  Well not all dogs. Actually not even most dogs. But I will give them all a shot. They have one chance with me. And if they mess that chance up, it is up to them to redeem themselves and resolve the conflict between the two of us. I've learned that dogs are really good at being the bigger person, as I've had several dogs approach me to try and patch up a relationship that may have gotten off on the wrong foot. I most recently made amends with my friends dog Dutch, and its because he wanted to. We're cool now.

Anyway...

So I'm allergic to cats. This sucks so fucking much that it makes me question my very worth. What good am I, crazy cat loving fool, if I can't even be around them?  How am I ever going to own a fleet of cats? How am I ever going to live up to my own expectations of having too many cats to function? Of waking up in a sea of kittens, on the regular? The best dream I ever had involved me discovering an underground rail road of cats, and I lead them to freedom. Which happened to be at my house. I had another dream that my best friend gave birth to a cat baby that looked just like her. It was so awesome.

I'm not so allergic that I puff up and become unrecognizable just because I walked into a house that has cats, but it can really fuck up my day and makes hanging out in peoples houses when I don't have allergy medicine with my quite miserable. And you know what is terrible about allergy medication? That shit is expensive. Really, really expensive.   So not only am I allergic to cats, but I have to pay for it?  Come on, man.  When I go home, especially because I'm not used to them, I sleep like shit. And god help me if I pet the wrong cat and touch my face. But I persevere. Because I love cats. And aint no histamines are gonna get between me and my favorite animal. Cats rule.


So I began this post not purely because I wanted to talk about my love for cats, but because I am having a very special guest stay at my house in two weeks time. For five magnificent, fun filled magical days, we will be sharing our humble little condo with Mons. Mons belongs to my best friend, who happens to be skipping town for a few days. And it might seem a bit outrageous for a person to drop off a cat at some else's place...cats are usually so self sufficient. Everyone knows that all you have to do is put out an enormous bowl of food with like 12 bowls of water scattered around the house, leave out a clean litter box and you're good to go. All cats do is sleep anyway they won't even notice you left. 


But not this cat. This cat is a high maintenance little guy.


Mons is a special guy for many reasons. My most favorite special thing about Mons though is that I AM NOT ALLERGIC TO HIM. At least not really. At least not as much as I am to most other cats...and I tend to get used to him really quickly.  He's the only cat that I can thrust my face into the belly of and not emerge resembling the elephant man with a serious cold afterwards.  Mons is special for another reason, too...he has Renal Failure.  Its when the kidneys don't filter properly and all of the toxins that usually flush out the kidneys through urination begin to build up in other places.  Way, way back, in the year 2007, Aimee and I came back up to Boston after being out of town for a few days, to discover a very sick and frail shell of a cat. We immediately brought him to the vet where it was advised that Aimee put the little guy down. Many people probably would have followed to vet's advice, because here's the alternative...every day Aimee, or someone, has to give this cat a shot of water. As in, stick a cat with a needle and be able to hold it in them long enough to allow such and such amount of water to go through a fairly slow dripping IV tube...it takes about 10 minutes. And do this every day, for ever and ever, or face the consequence of your animal getting really sick again. Ugh. Seriously?

It seems like a lot of work, and well, it is. I've given the shot to him a bunch of times, and its not that hard, you just need to have the gumption to calmly stick a needle into a cat.  And if it were any other cat, I'd laugh and say good luck. But Mons is special. He's a Lumpy McLumperton. The most mellow high maintenance cat in the world. Which is great, because it means I get a sick cat for five days. Life does not get much better than this!

So clearly, I'm very excited about cat sitting.

Here's the lumplet!

 Any good cat stories? I know a bunch of you know the little man personally, he's the type of cat you know a good story about. Feel free to share!