A Good Read

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Thank you to all my favorite cat friends for the cool comments you left on my 100th blog post!!! I was strutting around all day feeling like a princess. ... Glogirly is asking me how that's different from any other day. Well it just IS. So there.

Glogirly has been working on lots of projects at home. Resumes here, resumes there, resumes everywhere. I bet she's really wishing she were a cat right now. Since she's so busy I can't even get her to chase me around the townhouse and try and pick me up. That's our special game you know and she just doesn't to want to play. So I've had to make my own fun around here.

I've decided to take up reading.

First I had to find a book that was small enough to fit my delicate paws with pages little enough that I can turn on my own. It needed to be right-sized for my own lap as well. Stephen King clearly won't do. Besides, I have a feeling he'd keep me up at night.

War And Peace? What is IT good for?

Absolutely nothing... if-you're-a-cat. UUHH!

So I've settled on this little picture book about a cat and a squirrel that are involved in some "relationship." It's called Molly & Kimpy, Let's Go Someplace. I see there is an elephant involved. Now THAT'S going to make for an awkward triangle.

I know, it's sounding a little like a Lifetime Network movie. I'm just getting into it so I can't tell you where the plot is going yet. What I can tell you though is that it's making me sleepy... very, very sleepy.

My 100th Post

biggify me!

Hi everyone, Katie here.

This is my 100th post today! I can't believe I've had so much to say, so many stories to tell, so many grievances to air.

Glogirly is not surprised. She says I'm a cat with alot of baggage. Hmmm... Baggage. You mean like luggage? Handbags? I'm quite fond of fashion accessories.

I've had a great time sharing my day-to-day observations with you in words (LOTS of them) and photos. Click on the collage at the top to biggify it... there are 100 photos from 100 posts!

I'm most grateful for having made so many wonderful friends out there in the blogosphere. More than I would have ever dreamed of and more than I can count. You've told me your stories, you've laughed with me. You've commiserated with me, you've given me advice on how to handle my Glo-family. As you know, Glogirly & Gloman can be both puzzling and annoying. You always remind me that they are only human. I know... I can't expect much. They just aren't as smart as cats. But deep down behind all that singsong kitty talk, the manicures, the pedicures, the thankfully infrequent V-E-T trips, the rules & regulations, the smelly visitors... deep down in their tiny little hearts, I know they love me.

Who wouldn't.

Her Cheating Heart

Hi everyone, Katie here.

I thought we had something special. A cat and her girl, a girl and her cat. What could be more perfect?

It has recently come to my attention that Glogirly has not been faithful to me OR to my blog. I have it on good authority that she is ... well... cheating on me. Blatantly cheating. Seems she's been invited to write on ANOTHER blog. She's written some so-called "guest blog" for I Have Cat. From what I hear it's a bunch of inflammatory nonsense about me and Gloman. Whatever.

She may as well be cuddling and cat napping with Kip and Petey, the two cats from I Have Cat. Kip. What kind of a name is that? Sounds like something that should be stuffed into a cat toy and sewn shut. And Petey. How juvenile. Grow up already. Not to mention "I Have Cat." What kind of a name for a blog is that? Nice grammar there.

I HAVE CAT(s)

Petey & Kip

cute... but not as smart as me

I haven't read the blog yet. I'm not sure I want to fuel the fire.

But then again...

I am a cat.

I am naturally curious.

I cannot leave well enough alone.

So I'm heading over there now to see what the fuss is all about. Click HERE to come with me. I suppose I will have to forgive her, eventually. But I will never forget. Never.

Laps, Schmaps

Hi everyone, Katie here.

HA HA, fooled you! By the sounds of my headline I bet you thought I was going to post cute photos of me curled up in Glogirly's lap... lounging the day away. Well, guess what. I don't do that kind of lap. I'm not that kind of angel.

So Glogirly's newest adventure in fitness appears to be swimming. Somehow she thought that her dog paddling skills she learned as a kid could be easily converted into an aquatic fitness regime. She would, after all, not drown if she was thrown overboard from a small fishing vessel. She enjoys deep bathtubs. Even the occasional hot tub. Someone forgot to tell her though that there's just a little more to it than kicking and paddling around in the shallow end.

Glogirly enlisted in the help of a former-swimming-champion-friend. She just wanted to learn how to breathe and do that fancy little somersault turn thing in between laps.

Ok Houston, we have a problem. Correction: Problems, plural.

1. You have to put your face in the water.
2. You can't breathe with your face in the water.
3. You have to be ok with your face in the water.
4. If 1, 2, and 3 are problems, you have a problem.
5. If water up your nose is causing panic, you have to wear a geeky nose clip.
6. If vision is a big deal to you, you have to wear funny goggles.
7. You must kick like mad with your legs, stroke for all you're worth with your arms, put your face boldly in the water and breathe ONLY when your face comes out of the water. All in perfect rhythm. All while your heart is racing, your arms & legs are going numb and you are gasping for air.
8. Forget about the fancy somersault turn thing in between laps. You have to actually swim a lap first. Laps, Schmaps.

Here are Glogirly's new swimming toys.

She's a major newbie. Especially with that nose clip, flotation device and goggles. I'd offer to give her lessons. But I already know there is a strict no-cat policy at the pool. Probably just some lazy pool guy tired of picking cat hair out of the filter.

As far as fitness goes, I still think Glogirly would be better off training with me at home. We could do the CATFLEXING routine I blogged about a few months ago.

But she doesn't listen to me. That Glogirly. She's just so single minded and stubborn. Not like anyone I know, THAT'S for sure.

I'm Getting Sleepy, Very Sleepy

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Well sort of. I can hardly keep my eyes open. All these season premieres on TV are really cutting into my napping schedule.

Based on your responses to my Tick Tock Tick Tock blog, I know most of you don't watch the TV show 24. Well let me tell you... napping, not even light dozing, is possible while Jack Bauer and Chloe O'Brien are tracking down the bad guys.

Maybe if they sought the help of Stealth Kitty they could more quietly go about saving the world.

So between football playoffs, four hours of 24 and some new thing that Gloman is gaga over called The Human Target... I'm exhausted.

Oh, and did I mention the countless hours, more than I care to count, of American Idol auditions? It's all so loud. Perfect pitch rare indeed. I don't know how Simon, Randy and what's-her-lips do it.

Glogirly tells me there's yet another premiere we have to watch next week. It's called Damages. She's been raving about Glenn Close who plays this cut-throat lawyer named Patty Hewes. Glogirly says if you haven't seen it, you should. Even though it's one of those shows that you have to watch from start to finish, in order... you know the drill. But she says it's worth it.

Damages.

If I don't get some rest, I'll show HER some Damages.

Tick Tock Tick Tock

Hi everyone, Katie here.

The wait is over. My hero is finally returning to television. The two-night season premiere event for FOX's 24 begins tonight! Thankfully, Glogirly is not having her usual 24 premiere party, so I can enjoy the show uninterrupted and without smelly, loud intruders.

It's just Jack, Chloe and me.

Just Jack,

Chloe,

and Me.

Now many of you girls out there are all about Jack Bauer. Jack this, Jack that. Jack, Jack, Jack. Don't get me wrong, I like Jack. Jack can kick some major... Butt MY personal role model is none other than the infamous Chloe O'Brien.

Chloe is my home girl. I'm thinking of changing my name to Chloe O'Brien. You see, we have so very much in common. She is me, personified. I am her feline alter ego.

Chloe is the brains behind the operation fighting terrorists in the hit TV show 24. She's a computer genius and is widely known for her ability to triangulate coordinates, recover secret codes from corrupt hard drives and sneer effortlessly at her coworkers. She is surly and proud of it. She's not afraid to roll her eyes, sigh loudly, even throw out a well-timed sarcastic insult. She is, in a word... AWESOME.

So don't miss the big event tonight and tomorrow.

8-10pm CST on FOX. The clock is ticking.

Fine. There I said it.

Foxy Friday

Hi everyone, Foxy Katie-Cat here.

Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd were onto something back when they were just "Two wild and crazy guys... looking for American foxes!"

And so too now are my foxy friends Rumble & Inigo at Rumblebum. In gratitude for featuring ME in their first-ever Foxy Friday blog post, I've created my own Foxy Friday Quiz for you. How foxy are you? Well that depends. How many famous foxes can you name?

Who Are These Famous Foxes?

ANSWERS HERE!

SCORING

How foxy are you?

0-3 CORRECT

You can't even SPELL foxy. And I'm not convinced you know what day of the week Friday is. Sheesh. Go sit in the corner and think about what you don't know.

4-6 CORRECT

You're a foxy rookie. You're stuck with foxy training wheels for now. Keep practicing, keep training, and someday, just maybe, you'll be foxy.

7-8 CORRECT

You're somewhat foxy. No longer a rookie, you exhibit foxy moments. But is somewhat foxy the same as somewhat pregnant?

All 9 CORRECT

You just might be as foxy as me! ...emphasis on MIGHT.

Katie in A Minor

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Glogirly's getting ready for her winter semester piano lessons to start up. She has much to learn so I've been giving her a few pointers.

One thing she really needs to work on is playing through her mistakes. She could stand to learn a few lessons from us cats. For example, when we knock over say a flower vase with water and daisies, what do we do? Well what we DON'T do is make a big fuss over the fact that we just did knocked over a vase with water and daisies! No loud meows, no hisses, no OMC's. We just keep on walking and we don't look back. Did something fall? What? I didn't see anything. Don't mind me, just passing through. Or an alternative strategy is to make it look like we meant to do it. Start batting around the daisies, maybe lap up some water. Make it all look like it was part of a master plan.

We are cats.

We are cool, calm and collected.

And we never let them see us sweat.

So while Glogirly continues to tame her verbal and facial language that she so frequently "exercises" with each wrong note or chord, I thought it would be fun to have another quiz.

I've come up with five of our favorite composers and one each of their most famous works. So far Glogirly has learned 4 out of 5 of these pieces. Well, "learned" is relative if you know what I mean.

So here's how it goes:

PART ONE - COMPOSER NAME SCRAMBLE

Each composer's name appears underneath their portrait. It's all scrambled up though. Not because I can't spell... and believe me they have pretty hard-to-spell names. It's just part of the game. So first you have to unscramble their name to figure out who they are. Hint: They are all dead. And NO, I didn't kill them.

Composer #1

E V E N T H E B O

Composer #2

N I P C O H

Composer #3

Y E S B U D S

Composer #4

This one is too easy for a scramble so instead you get a clue.

He has a really easy name, but his music is super hard to play.

Glogirly says it's no coincidence his name is a four-letter-word.

_ _ _ _

Composer #5

T I K E A

PART TWO - WHO'S SONG IS THAT?

Ok, so these old guys would probably cringe at me calling their classic works "songs." But hey, they're dead and may I remind you, I am not responsible. The second part of the challenge is to match up the song with the composer. There's one song for each composer.

Here's the songs, just click on each link to hear an excerpt:

Fur Elise

Mystery Song

'Raindrop' Prelude

Clair De Lune

Arioso

this recording is a guitar... it's waaay cooler on the piano

There are no tangible prizes for this challenge... only the satisfaction of being a classical music geek or just plain super-smart. Who knows, maybe this will help get you onto Jeopardy.

Thanks to our fashionista friend Daisy and her private computer tutorial, we now have a working link to the answers at the bottom of the page in the event you need to check your work or...gasp...cheat. Glogirly is a little slow though and can't get the button itself to link with the answers, so just click on the words for now. She's going to need some remedial tutoring.

A word of caution...if you do choose to cheat, you probably will NOT make it onto Jeopardy.

Good Luck!

ANSWERS HERE

Extra Fun Facts:

1. Glogirly can play all the songs except for Clair de Lune.
2. She really wants to learn that one too but she doesn't know if she's smart enough yet.
3. She loves playing sad, slow songs. None of that happy ragtime stuff.
4. A Minor is her favorite key.

Mustache Love

Hi everyone, Katie here.

Mancat this. Mancat that. Mancat, Mancat, Mancat!

I swear, it's Mancat mania out there. Frankly, I'm getting a little tired of always hearing about Mancat stuff. It started with Mancat Monday. Fine. The boys can have Monday. Monday is a boring day anyway. But when they creep into the rest of the week, well... us girls have to stick together to take control.

So I'm here today to make all those mancats just a little jealous of my distinctive, girly-girl mustache. I bet there's not a mancat out there who can compete with MY whisker adornments. Ok, maybe it's a little lop-sided... I choose to call it asymmetrical. Still, you must agree, it's one marvelous stache.

Ok now for some fun. Take a peek at these 12 famous mustache's. Do you know who each one belongs to? I bet all the girly-girls out there do!

Now if Glogirly could just figure out how to make a cool answer button that actually works, you girlcats would be able to check your work and confirm all those right answers. And you mancats could cheat.

But alas, she's too busy trying to dress up like me.

Even Glogirly's got mustache envy.

Warning!

Spoilers ahead!!!

Spoilers ahead!!!

Soooooo.... here are the answers:

1. Salvador Dali
2. Clark Gable
3. Capn' Crunch
4. Albert Einstein
5. Ned Flanders
6. Guess Who!
7. Charlie Chaplin
8. Vincent Van Gogh
9. Clark Gable again HA-HA, trick question!
10. Yosemite Sam
11. Groucho Marx
12. Snidely Whiplash