Ugh ... Open House 2008: Bring on the Tylenol

Tonight is Open House at Mom's school ... AGAIN!!! Already!!!  An' get this:  Her principal scheduled a "meeting" for the faculty AFTER Open House is over at 7:40 PM.   Is he out of his freakin' mind?

Her kids this year are far nicer people than in the last two years that I've been blogging, but most of the comments that I'D make would likely stay the same. It's a furry good thing that cats don't teach high school, 'cuz I'd NEVER cut my clawrs an' my fangs would be as sharp as my wit!

In honor of Open House 2008, I'm reprinting a Thursday Thirteen from a year ago ...

Thirteen Things That I'd Say To Parents At Open House 

If Cats Could Teach High School

1. Convert the basement because you're gonna be supportin' your child for the next fifty or so years of YOUR life.

2. School ... for your child ... ends at 4 PM because he's going to be servin' detention for this entire year.

3. Had the epidural worn off when you named him that?

4. Did you drop her on her head?

5. I have two words for you: Social Promotion.

6. I've hacked up more intelligent hairballs.

7. Teens should be spayed or neutered!

8. Sparky Fuzzypants is brighter than your kid an' he's got a room-temperature IQ!

9. Did you drop her on her head?

10. Now that I've met you, I understand why your son says and does such stupid stuff in my class.

11. Your daughter has the morals of an alley cat (!) an' dresses like a tramp!

12. Aarrrrrghhhhh!

13. And ... once again ... Did you drop her on her head?

Witness Protection Program Wednesday ...

ManCat Monday: It's all about the pose!

Mom has said ... of Mr. Fuzzypants ... that it's hard to be a ManCat when you're so darn pretty. I agree. Sparky Fuzzypants is awfully pretty.

If you look furry carefully, you can see our Gran readin' in the background.

Easy on Sunday

I guess we'll spend our Sunday much like this ... Loungin' 'round the house enjoying the cloudy weather an' slightly cooler temperature.

Mom leaves for the baby shower in a little while, so the house will be ... quiet. Ssshhhhhhh ...

You've gotta be kiddin' me ... a GIRAFFE?!?

I was over at Honey P. Sunshine's bloggie where she had posted her results from the "What Animal Were You In A Past Life" quiz: She's a CHEETAH.

I figured that I'd be somethin' equally cool as a cheetah, but more likely an elephant ('cuz of the game of THOE that the Feline Americans an' I played last night through the hallway). But no ...

I was a freakin' GIRAFFE ... Have these quiz 'beans never met me? Have they never seen my photo? Giraffes are ginormous an' I'm ... short.

You Were a Giraffe

You are a high achiever - able to reach things others can't. A great communicator, you are good at getting past superficialities.

What Animal Were You In a Past Life?

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt #78: Hanging

HANGING

The Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt theme for this week is HANGING

We don't have a whole bunch of things hangin' all over the place 'cuz Charmee delights in knocking them down. Charmee likes hangin' parts of himself off of stuff ... So we're posting one of Mom's favorite photos of Charmee. She says that this photo makes him look sweet an' innocent (not at all like his usual self!) ...

Friday Fill-Ins

Hmmm ... This is the second week in a row that the Friday's Feast site hasn't had questions ... I wonder why?

Friday Fill-Ins #82

1. I believe whatever doesn't kill you _just wasn’t trying hard enough_.

2. If you're good at something, _spend your free time learning to be good at other things_.

3. Why so _tired? I’m a worker bee ..._.

4. Something is out there, it's _the new “X-Files” movie?_.

5. If my life were a sitcom, it would be titled _”Slow Down, Woman!”_.

6. Sitting on my back porch [if you don't have one, use your imagination] I see _hummingbird feeders that need refilling and a ginormous rosemary bush_.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to _resting (my back is killing me!)_, tomorrow my plans include _cutting out the aprons that I’m going to sew from the fabric that I bought last Saturday_ and Sunday, I want to _enjoy Kimmy’s baby shower (yep, I’m goin’ to ANOTHER shower)_!

Bon Voyage to Chica an' Pumuckl!

Our furriends, Chica and Pumuckl, are moving from their home in Egypt. We just wanna wish them good luck for their trip ...
DMM and the Feline Americans

We'll catch up with 'em when they're moved into their new house!

Yay for JH!

Big CONCATULATIONS to our good friend, Jeter Harris, who was selected to be the Catster "Cat of the Week"!

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt #77: What IS That?!?

WHAT IS THAT?!?

The Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt theme for this week is WHAT IS THAT?!?

If you'll remember, eighteen months ago, the black masheen was painted by the unscrupulous folks at Earl Scheib in Chula Vista, CA. They're the charletons who left the masheen unlocked in an unpatrolled parking lot on the busiest street in Chula Vista allowing Mom's stereo to be stolen. They also refused to pay for their negligence, so Mom had to replace her own stereo at her own expense ... Don't patronize Earl Scheib!!!

Anyway, those dolts did such a horrible job of masking before painting that they painted over the clear lenses that were luminating the masheen's rear license plate ...



Here is a photo of the whole thing ...


Mom replaced THOSE, too ...

Friday Fill-Ins

It's the end of Mom's first week of school (eight more to go until the fall vacation) ... It's been a pretty good week since her ninth graders this year are far better human 'beans than the last couple of years'. Let's hope that it continues as the counselors haven't finished balancing classes yet ...

Friday Fill-In #81

1. If I could be a fly on the wall I would _hang out in the staff lounge and listen to all of the griping and complaining. I don’t like negative attitudes, so I tend to avoid the lounge like the plague_.

2. Jealousy is _when one of the cats has a couple of uneaten Temptations in his pile and everyone else is slinking closer to try to steal them away_.

3. When I see a shooting star my wish would be that _I’d have an especially good school year with lots of learning_.

4. I'd rather be _smart_ than _cute_ any day!

5. Certain songs when I hear them make me wanna _dance ... although some make me want to cry_.

6. If time were in a bottle _it would cost more per gallon than gasoline_.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to _SLEEPING ... I’m so tired_, tomorrow my plans include _would it be okay if I were still sleeping?_ and Sunday, I want to _shop for some fabric and start making aprons for Christmas gifts_!

What?!? Wednesday

Mom got this in Moses Lake, WA ... an' then took the photo in Whorley, ID.

Do you know what it is?

Yep, it's "famous" fry sauce from the ...


ARCTIC CIRCLE!!




An' it's not nearly as good as Mom remembers ... In fact, it was kinda "blah" ...

Help to stop DECLAWING in California!

If your fambly lives in California, please ask the 'beans who are registered voters to write letters to their assembly members an' state senators opposing AB 2427 (Eng) which will reinstitute cruel an' inhumane practices like declawing to parts of our state like West Hollywood ... Essentially, this bill will take away local governments' abilities to decide for themselves.

Mom thinks that declawing is barbaric, so she immediately went to this link www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html an' then inserted our zip code to find out where to send her angry letters opposing AB 2427 (Eng).

Here's what Mom said in her letter ... She says that it's totally OKAY with her if you wanna copy her letter an' send it to your elected people, too.


Insert your address here ...
July 15, 2008

The Honorable Denise Moreno Ducheny, District 40
California State Senate
State Capitol, Room 5035
Sacramento, CA 94248-0001


Dear Senator Ducheny:

It has come to my attention that the California State Senate will be voting on AB 2427 (Eng) in the coming weeks: A bill reinstituting the cruel and inhumane practice of cat declawing. As a cat owner and a registered voter in California, I am appalled by this barbaric practice and vehemently opposed. I request that you vote NO on AB 2427 (Eng).

The California Veterinary Medical Association is in favor of cat de-clawing for financial gain entirely. Declawing is in no way beneficial to felines. It is, in fact, comparable to amputation of human fingers at the first knuckle. No business interest should subvert or restrict the rights of citizens to establish their own local policies and preferences. No business interest should be allowed to dictate policy to all California local governments ... least of all policies that are inhumane and barbaric.

California’s courts have upheld the right of local governments to respond to the changing conditions and values in their own area. AB 2427 prevents communities from deciding what veterinary procedures they will allow in their jurisdictions. This could affect future restrictions on declawing, tail docking, ear cropping and similar inhumane procedures on domesticated and farmed animals.

As California continues to grow, attempts to restrict local government results in even greater disenchantment of voters with their representatives. To ignore the will of people who elected you is to subvert the principles that made us a nation.

I emphatically request that you vote NO on AB 2427 (Eng).

Sincerely,


BUT YOU HAFTA HURRY! The vote's gonna happen in just a few days an' it's vitally important that this bill FAIL!

Mom's vacation photos: White Rock, B.C.

Now that Mom's officially "back at work," her vacation's over. Sigh ...

We thought that we'd share this slideshow of the photos that Mom took during her day trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She drove from Seattle to Canada on Friday, June 27th ... an' spent about five hours in the Great White North at a beach community called White Rock.

Mom marveled at how clean efurrything was there at the beach. Being from San Diego, she knows that 'beans aren't the best at keeping things clean an' neat ... so she was furry impressed at the lack of tagging and garbage.

The two things that were disappointing were: the Canadian border dood (okay: Mountie) didn't stamp her passport AND the wait to get back into the United States took more that two hours (an' it was really hot outside).

Anyway, there are forty-four school days 'til her next vacation, but she's likely gonna hafta teach intersession ... BIG sigh.

Cousins on Sunday: Benjamin Fuzz an' Lucy Fur

Tomorrow is the first day of school for Mom's brand new students. She's teaching Reading again this year, but has her preparation period during the first hour of the day rather than the last (she's not furry happy 'bout this, but there's nothing that she can do 'bout it).

She has been wondering where the heck her vacation went ... an' thinkin' 'bout her trip to Seattle where she spent a bunch of days petting Ben an' Lucy.

So we're dedicating today's post to our fur cousins whe have a bloggie: Benjamin Fuzz an' Lucy Fur.

This is Ben. He's about five years old. He is a Himalayan cat who had a lion cut. He is a BIG guy, but he has a very small an' gentle voice.







An' this is Lucy Fur. She is a year old an' she's CRAZY. She likes to run all over our auntie's condo an' then skid to a stop. She sleeps in a basket by the window. She LOVES Pit-r-Pats an' her laserbeam toy. She's calmed down a bunch in the past nine months 'cuz now she likes being petted ... an' held for about five seconds.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt #76: SUPPORT

SUPPORT

The Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt theme for this week is SUPPORT.

How do those two-wheeled masheens hang there in the air? It's NOT magic ... The support of a black metal rack keeps them off the floor AND keeps them from fallin' on us an' smooshing us flat!



Mom has to store them inside our spare room 'cuz our neighborhood is full of 'bean who'd steal them. Oh, an' our storage shed is full, full, full ...

Refrigerator Meme

Kimo an' Sabi tagged us to do the Refrigerator Meme ... An' we're up to the challenge!

Here are the rules:   Show us a photo of the front of your Cold Box and tell us about at least one thing on it and one thing you keep inside of it! 

Tag your friends and remember to stay COOL! (And no fair cleaning it up first!!!)

Mom took the photos for us 'cuz we have THREE 'frig-a-monsters to show!

Here is the cold box that Mom has behind her desk at school. It has magnets all over it. Some of the magnets are words that can be rearranged into poems, some magnets are of SpongeBob, an' a few magnets are special ones from friends like a windmill from Solvang an' an Irish blessing from ... duh ... Ireland.  She has stickers from our V-E-T an' to support our service people.  Oh, an' there's even a calendar ... on a magnet! ... that is for people who are Sagittarians (like Mom).

Down at the bottom is a picture frame with a photo that Mom took of herself with a Polaroid camera back in 1993. Her tongue is sticking out!

Inside the box is a tiny freezer that hold three itty bitty ice cube trays, there are bottles of water an' cranberry juice, a cup with some ice in it, a little green plastic lime, Mother Fuddrucker's mustard, some apple sauce, a protein bar, a single packet of soy sauce ... an' a SpongeBob cold pack for when her kids complain 'bout headaches.

Then there are the "home" units. We have a cold box called a "side-by-side" an' we have a second box that's REALLY cold an' it lives near the clothes masheens an' our litter boxes. It's called a FREEZER ... brrrr ...



The house 'frigerator has a bunch of magnets on them. One is from our good furriend Mr. Tigger who was one of our Secret Paws last year!



The ginormous freezer has bunches of schedules on it. If you look carefully, there's a magnet that Mom brought home from when the World Famous San Diego Zoo had it's 90th birthday ... The magnet's about two years old.



We've got lots of stuff in our 'frigerator 'cuz Mom is a condiment junkie an' has lots of sauces. IF you look furry carefully, at the bottom of the photo is our favorite section of the 'frigerator: The drawer full of cheeses. Yum!




Mom stores stuff that's "perishable" in the ginormous super-cold box. Inside is types of flour, chips an' crackers, MEATS (!), veggies, an' baked goods. Toward the bottom is a tub of vanilla ice cream that Mom's keepin' fresh for her club at school. The ice cream tub is nearly as large as her school 'frigerator, so there's NO WAY that she could keep it there. Hee, hee ...

Well ... Those are our cold boxes. We're probably the last bloggers to do this Meme, so we're not gonna tag anyone formally. IF you wanna do the Meme, too ... You can say that we tagged you, right?

Forest has gone ...

Beautiful Forest has gone to the 'Bridge ...

We are deeply saddened for Omer an' his fambly ... This is a profound an' terrible loss.

You can visit them an' pay your respects at Snow and Forest.

Second Blogoversary! Yay!

I'm a cat of few words today ...

TODAY IS MY SECOND BLOGOVERSARY!

DMM

Farewell to our furriend, Mu Shue Pooh King Cat

Now you're up-to-date ...

Bits o' news ...

Thursday is our second blogoversary.

Today was Mom's first work day of the 2008-09 school year.  She just got home a little while ago an' said that the district "rah-rah" meeting was brutal.

The black masheen was acting up, so Mom took it in for adjustments an' stuff to the tune of $2,200.  Interestingly, that was nearly the same amount of a raise that she got for surviving to eighteen years as a teacher.

Monday, July 14, is the first day of school.

Hey, baby! It's the FOURTH OF JULY!

It's a national holiday ... an' also "FASHION SHOW FRIDAY" ... so here's our furry own Feline American Lucky Charmz modeling his "All American Baby" t-shirt ... Kyoot outfit, huh?

Yay!  Mom is back from her vacation (an' we're givin' her a mild case of the cold shoulder to let her know that we're still kinda ticked off that she was gone for so long).

We wanna wish all of the Americans (an' American ex patriots) in the Cat Blogosphere a "Happy Independence Day" ... an' a pleasant July 4th to efurryone else!

Our Cousin Michele sent us a whole bunch of photos of unfortunate kitties whose famblies have too much money an' too much free time on their opposable thumb-wielding hands ... So we're posting the holiday-appropriate photo as a warning to 'beans efurrywhere:   It's okay to make us wear kyoot outfits, but don't paint your cat!  Argh!

Happy Gotchaversary to Sparky Fuzzypants!

Even though Mom's not home yet, we wanna wish our furry own Sparky Fuzzypants a happy birthday/gotcha day TODAY!

Mr. Pants is TEN YEARS OLD an' can't be happier about it.

We're gonna have turkey tonight 'cuz Mom's airplane arrives this afternoon at 3:48 PM an' we can't wait to eat ... uh, I mean see her.