You almost feel bad for them...

Wow. I am so drunk with power right now. I had no idea the things I could get you to do just by waving a cat dressed as a frog in front of you.

Buy me a Macbook.

What's that? Did you say no?

BAM!




Now what were you saying?

In all seriousness, I am so excited that you all share my love for cats dressed as other animals. I stumbled across this Japanese company when I was in college and would spend hours gazing at cats dressed as chickens...




Cows...



And, of course, redheads...



I was under the impression the company went out of business because none of my old links to their web site worked anymore. But it turns out they just relocated to a brand spanking new web site with brand spanking new cat costumes. Feast your eyes upen these.

I just e-mailed the company to see if they would be up for a little business deal. They provide one free frog costume for me to give away on my blog and I'll provide them will free advertising on my blog for six months. Let's see if they take the bait...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Let your voice be heard

If you are a member of 20-Something Bloggers, vote now for the 20SB Bootleg Awards. You have until Jan. 19 to cast your vote... but why wait? Do it now!

I offer this as my bribe...



Seriously, how can you resist that? What kind of monster are you?

101 in 1001 Update

As mentioned yesterday, I want to complete at least 40 items on my "101 Things in 1001 Days" list by the end of 2009. This does not include things I crossed off in 2008: #72 Get engaged #85 Read 50 books in one year #100 Frame mermaid/fisherman paintings) So, by Jan. 1, 2009--I hope to have at least 43 items total crossed off my list. I'm happy to report that yesterday I crossed off: #7 Buy a homeless person a hot meal See my full list and track my progress here. The other half of my new year's resolution is to read at least a dozen books that I didn't get to last year. Here's my list of books I want to read so far: Love in the Time of Cholera The History of Love A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Musicophilia Water for Elephants The World Without Us A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius Running with Scissors The Gift of Fear A Million Little Pieces Finally, regarding your questions about whether I'll be posting pictures of my wedding dress, the answer is no. Andrew reads this blog and keeping the dress a surprise until he sees me walking down the aisle towards him is very important to me. I hope you all understand!

Okay let's see if I remember how this works

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack. And I have to say it feels damn good! What an amazing way to be welcomed back to the blogosphere! You guys nominated me for the most interesting blog in the 20SB community! When I read all of the nominations, I did not expect to see my own name appear on the list. When I saw I had been nominated for the most interesting category, I literally squealed with delight. I also might have done an awkward little dance in my little blue striped nightgown. (My superhero outfit, according to Andrew.) I told Andrew the news and his response? "Who would find your blog interesting? It's about BAND-AIDS!" Touché, my dear. Touché. I don't know who nominated me, but thanks! I never really believed movie stars when they say crap like "It's an honor just to be nominated" for the Oscars, etc... but you know what? I believe them now. I am beyond honored! (You like me! You really like me!) Okay enough of that... On to business. 50 Books in 2008 Some of you have been asking about whether or not I read 50 books in 2008 like I had set out to do. The answer is yes. Though, just barely. I finished number 50 with eight hours of '08 to spare. The final 11 books on the list are all plays (with the one audio book exception). Quick reads... was under the gun, ya know? I read a total of 9,325 pages last year. That's just craziness! Here's the list, in the order that they were read. I've emboldened the top ten books that I highly recommend you read for yourselves... I hope you like the Sedaris siblings... 1. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (David Sedaris) 2. Holidays on Ice (David Sedaris) 3. The Glass Castle (Jeannette Walls) 4. The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Mitch Albom) 5. Me Talk Pretty One Day (David Sedaris) 6. Your Blues Ain't Like Mine (Bebe Moore Campbell) 7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky) 8. Then, Suddenly (Lynn Emanuel) 9. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat And Other Clinical Tales (Oliver Sacks) 10. Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov) 11. The Little Book of Plagiarism (Richard Posner) 12. A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams) 13. Fire Wheel (Sharmila Voorakkara) 14. I Like You (Amy Sedaris) 15. Tuesdays With Morrie (Mitch Albom) 16. Naked (David Sedaris) 17. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Tennessee Williams) 18. Happy Birthday, Wanda June (Kurt Vonnegut) 19. The Rum Diary (Hunter S. Thompson) 20. A Raisin in the Sun (Lorraine Hansberry) 21. When You Are Engulfed in Flames (David Sedaris) 22. Bait and Switch (Barbara Ehrenreich) 23. Post Office (Charles Bukowski) 24. Message in a Bottle (Nicholas Sparks) 25. Dear John (Nicholas Sparks) 26. At First Sight (Nicholas Sparks) 27. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (Michael Chabon) 28. Look Me in the Eye (John Elder Robinson) 29. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See) 30. The Final Solution: A Story of Detection (Michael Chabon) 31. The Awakening (Kate Chopin) 32. Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck) 33. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Edward Albee) 34. Resurrection Blues (Arthur Miller) 35. The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (Lorraine Hansberry) 36. Not about Nightingales (Tennessee Williams) 37. A Model World and Other Stories (Michael Chabon) 38. Indignation (Philip Roth) 39. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou) 40. The Baby with the Bathwater (Christopher Durang) 41. Hughie (Eugene O'Neill ) 42. Betty's Summer Vacation (Christopher Durang) 43. Barrel Fever (David Sedaris) (audio book) 44. Long Day's Journey into Night (Eugene O'neill) 45. Buried Child (Sam Shepard) 46. The Gin Game (D. L. Coburn) 47. Don't Drink the Water (Woody Allen) 48. 'Night Mother (Marsha Norman) 49. Barefoot in the Park (Neil Simon) 50. The Member of the Wedding (Carson McCullers) So what's next? My resolution for 2009 is to complete at least 40 items on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list. I already have a few items crossed off--I'll post an update tomorrow. Thanks Thank you so much for reading my blog. 2008 was a terrific year for me. I fell in love with blogging and this entire community, I moved into a fabulous house with Andrew, I got engaged, and started planning our wedding! Oh, and did I mention that I BOUGHT MY WEDDING DRESS? EEEEEEE!! Here's to a superb 2009. Muah!

I am still alive

I am sorry for my disappearance from the blog world. I truly miss you all and have so many things I am looking forward to blogging about in the near future. I just don't have the time to do it justice right now, so please bear with me. I'll be back and hopefully at the top of my blogging game in just another day or so.

Happy New Year!

XOXO,
Mermanda