Well, in truth I am over my mourning period, there is always next year. I did ignore football yesterday for the most part. Mostly because Husband was working and I didn't feel like arguing with Gabe's rulership of the television. I did pop in for a score update however. So now that my mourning period is over I will just look forward to Next year.

Its not like there isn't plenty to do here. I have almost finished my awesome book about Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII. I should be working on my bracelet but that was set aside so I could read my novel. I did notice that the author has written several other books of a similar type so am awaiting a trip to the bookstore to gather a few more.

Both girls have been gone the entire weekend socializing. Tomorrow they head back to school bur Gabe is home for one more. Not that I mind as he and I have settled into a nice routine.

We are gearing up for Miss Colleens 12th Birthday on Saturday the 21st. I look forward to birthday shopping! She would like to go to Washington DC and see a performance of Cats and go to red lobster for a nice big Lobster!!! She is so funny about her lobster. Colleen starts the birthday cycle in our house which doesn't end again till July. Here we go!

I actually love birthday shopping for the kids. It is alot more fun to concentrate on one kid then all four at christmas. Colleen I believe is getting a new TV for her room as she has a really ancient model that was once my Parents! The screen now has a green hue and she needs all this fancy equipment to run her gaming systems.

Personally I would like to find her a male kitten to be a friend to Onyx. We have hesitated in doing this simply because Onyx has been such a wonderful cat that he has spoiled us. But he is lonely when Colleen is away. He cries and cries for her, and will not leave her side when she gets back home. Colleen has a way with cats, and so it doesn't matter much if its to be a family cat, it will gravitate to her anyway.

Alannah is demanding a Ferret in her best demanding teen voice. I am just not sure. They are a bit rodent like for me, and I know they are masters of escape. They also smell, despite demusking, and have a potential for going to the bathroom wherever they wish. Yuck!
I am so not wanting something to clean up after.

Woe to my Patriots for their hard loss to the Broncos last night. Denver deserves kudos, the patriots did not play a champion game at all. They were a mess. Congrats Denver Fans!! I am depressed now!

These boys are primed I can tell! lookout Denver here we come! Then it is on to Detroit!

Well I have issues with food that has an undertaste.

I think most flavored coffee tastes more like perfume! Not to insult the flavored coffee drinkers out there, you can have at it. I grind my own coffee at home so as not to foul it in the grocery store with someone else's Hazelnut Supreme. My daughter alannah loves flavored coffee, thus she has her own coffee pot. It is bad enough to have my sensitive whiffer exposed to the odiferous French Vanilla Swill that she likes.

But the issue is that despite being a smoker for many years I still have tastebuds that work overtime. Haven't you heard that if you smoke your sense of smell and taste gets very dulled? Not true for me! Perhaps my lousy eyesight is compensated by a great sense of smell and taste. If so it can be a curse.

I am a freshness freak. I never get sandwich meat or cheese from the deli, it always tastes of smarmy. Yuppers, SMARMY! I love a good sandwich though so I do spend a bit of time searching out possible options other than deli selections.

Well I came across this thin sliced meat last night while shopping that was double wrapped. Plastic sealed bubble placed in a plastic container. It was a pricey adventure, but I was willing to pay for a roastbeef and Swiss sandwich that didn't taste like dirty feet. Yes
I do know that dirty feet flavor. Haven't you ever heard someone say that something smells like it tastes? Well I am a walking testament to the truth of that statement.

So you can imagine my desire for that perfect sandwich when lunch rolled around today. I broke open the sealed container and cut open the plastic bubble and took a good sniff. Hmmmmmmmmmmm so far so good I thought. I examined it thourghly for gristle, that being part of my freshness peeve. I went ahead and made a lucious swiss cheese and roast beef sandwich. In anticipation, I took a huge bite.

Two chews and a braincheck with my tastebuds later, out that sandwich came, spit upon the plate.

Holy Hannah who packaged that dirty armpit and called it meat? Yes, as I said before I have an innate ability to taste all things foul.

Guess I am back to square one, or going to Arby's where I can get a decent roast beef sandwich!

Yup lovies, passed through the day relatively unscathed. My only difficulty was running out of coffee. So I drank tea instead and read my awesome book.

Colleen and I giggled that we were gonna stick our beautiful Onyx in the window for the superstitous folks out there. Onyx is a completely black cat. Colleen remarked that Onyx wouldn't stand for the insult, as he did have a very minute tuft of white under his chin! We are talking one or two hairs! That made me giggle though. Miss bean will someday make the best Vet!

Colleen loves to make up stories about what the cat might be thinking, for that she takes after me. I make up funny little voices, and great short stories having to do with our animals. I have always done it, and all of the kids have wonderful memories of hours of laughter over my foolish stories.

We once spent a whole afternoon with a litter of kittens placing them in a dump truck and watching them play, while making up stories. I know when all the kids are together and giggling that it usually has to do with very happy memories concerning the many litters of cats and puppies we have had over the years. Every well loved baby animal had a name, character attributes, and funny quirks that my children remember to this day.

We used to have a dog that was part Mastiff and part pit bull. She had the most gorgeous puppies and had them in great numbers. One particular litter numbered 10. We kept them in a big fenced in area during the day outside as it was summer. These dogs were large and solid, and full of mischief. Usually, they could be found out of the cage in a drooly, tail wagging herd, as one would always find a way to escape the confines. Of course they would all follow.

One afternoon Katelyn had two boys from her school stop at the end of our driveway for a visit. She had been expecting their visit so was just stepping outside to greet them when she saw that the puppy herd was loose again in the driveway. The pups noticed the two fresh playmates at the end of the driveway and turned to run towards them in a joyful greet. The two young men looked at each other astounded at the sea of puppy ears and tails running full tilt at them. One boy yelled "Scott, Run!!!!!!!"

The boys mounted their bikes as though the ground was burning their feet and took off down the road. The puppies noticed the departure of the play friends and turned around as though a swarm of bees and ran full tilt towards Katelyn. Of course this mass hoarde was full of puppy licks and clothes tugging as they fell upon Kate. Kate was laughing so hard at her friends fear and sudden departure, that she was knocked to the ground by the frenzied pups. Pups covered every inch of her, smothering her laughter with hot puppy breath. What a scene, mayhem and giggles as the kids came out to see what the ruckus was about.

To this day Kate tells this story like a pro and to this day we all laugh at the silliness of the boys and the sight of that herd of pups running after them!

This family is positively goofy over animals, and my kids have many giggly moments to remember as they go out into the world!