Paranormal Pets - Ghost Cat In My Bed

Hey everyone--here's a link to my interview on Pet Life Radio on their "Paranormal Pets" program. I spoke with host Dusty Rainbolt last week about the ghost cat that lives in our house. Laugh if you must, but ghost kitty exists. He/she makes sporadic appearances late at night, curling up at the end of our bed on my feet. You'll be able to learn all about it in the 5-minute interview.

FYI, Dusty's program is entertaining and I encourage you to listen to the entire show but if you're pressed for time and looking for my part, I come in around minute 9. 

Here's the MP3 of the interview: Ghost Cat In My Bed.

Husband Must Learn Tact--Or Else!

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but lately I have been eating a LOT. Not necessarily unhealthy food, just extremely large quantities of food are going into my mouth on an hourly basis. Part of it is the running, but I think part is also I've just formed the habit of eating hourly and need to break it.

I was discussing my out-of-control eating with Blair the other night. The discussion was nearing a close as we walked down the stairs when from behind me I heard Blair humming "Bah-boom, bah-boom, bah-boom" as I walked down the stairs.

"Excuse me," I said, stopping mid-tread to turn and stare at him. "But are you actually saying 'Bah-boom, bah-boom, ba-boom' for every step I take?"

"Uh, no!" he said, startled. "I was, uh, saying that about myself. Yes. About me. Needing to lose weight. See?" And he grabbed his belly and started bah-booming again as he walked past me.

Uh-huh. Okay, we've been married almost 14 years and I'm all for being comfortable with one another, but there have got to be limits. And I'm pretty sure calling out earthshaking sounds as your wife walks downstairs in front of you crosses some etiquette line, somewhere. 

Is there not some sort of remedial husband course I can send him to for a good polishing?

Sheesh.

The Fun of Living in a Small Town

Every now and again I'm reminded how much I enjoy living in my little (pop. 2500) town of Madison. I like the Airport Drive In that still has the panelled wood and starburst clock decor of the early 70's, combined with food that is served on wax paper instead of plates and waitresses that are as likely to slide into the booth next to you to take your order versus stand at the table. 

I like the insurance company that posts cheesy sayings on its sign board, the funniest of which has been, "We offer prices so low they'll make you want to smack your momma."

And I loved the "battle" earlier this spring between the insurance guy and Case Auto Center, a used car dealership. Randy Case's mother-in-law had found a momma cat and kittens and was feeding them, so Randy had his dealership sign read, "Free Kitten With Purchase of Used Car!"

Then the insurance guy decided to get in on it and changed his sign to read, "We'll give a free kitten to Randy Case with every policy sold!"

Randy countered with, "The Kittens are Gone. We gave them all to XXX Insurance Agency in the middle of the night." 

The Insurance guy came back with, "The kittens are gone. Now how do we get rid of Randy?"

They carried on for weeks. It was hysterical. 

I like that my neighbors held a meeting last Thursday night and we decided to hold a neighborhood yard sale in October, with most of the proceeds going to the retired minister up the street who traps feral cats and pays out of his own pocket to have them spayed or neutered. 

And i like that if two people stand out on my street talking, they will soon be joined by a third, then fourth, and it doesn't take long before 4-5 houses of neighbors are standing outside chatting in the evening, surrounded by all our dogs and cats.

Cheers to small town living.

Aaarghhh & Ahoy! Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

I've got the radio on and the two DJs are falling over themselves in their efforts to one up each other in their pirate talk. In case you weren't aware, today is National Talk Like a Pirate Day. Be sure and throw out a "Ahoy matey" whenever you feel it's appropriate.

The brain is bouncing this morning. A lot going on. Could it be time for one of my lists? Arrrgh, I believe so.

• Tomorrow is the Salem Lake 30K (18.6 miles) race. I'm testing my marathon readiness by attempting to hold my marathon pace of 9:09/mile. Feeling a little unsure. I also have barely put any mileage in this week, adding guilt to the mix.
  
• My agent (that just doesn't get old) e-mailed and asked that I update my website with the new book info and her contact information. Seems to make it more "real" somehow.
• I was one of 7 finalists for the cat blogger position on www.catster.com. I didn't get it, and am more than a little bummed about that.
• SO MUCH writing to do. Yesterday I started compiling a quiz for the cat book and even though it's a parody, I'm still structuring the quiz so people can take it for the their cats and get "real" results, which is requiring a whole lot more coordination than I had anticipated. Also need to find time this weekend to rough out an article for Rally to Rescue magazine. I spent this week interviewing 7 different people and would prefer to write while their comments are fresh in my mind.
• Laundry, laundry, and more laundry.
• Money. I'm owed it. Time to send some reminder e-mails to clients. 
• Library. I have nothing to read at night and am close to clawing my eyes out.

That's the main stuff. I've got details like website updates and workshop planning floating around on the back burner. But today is a WRITING day. All day. So I can sink into bed tonight and collapse after my run tomorrow feeling that I'm ahead of the game.

Happy (talk like a pirate) Friday.