Kitten's 2009 2nds Challenge

This challenge came from J. Kaye's Book Blog as well. The neat thing about this challenge is that it doesn't just have to be the second book in a series; it can be "a book from an author you've read just one book from before."

Here is the list, updated as of May 25, 2009:

1. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer
2. Anne of Avonlea, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
3. Little Men, by Louisa May Alcott
4. Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld
5. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to New York, by Paul Gallico
6. You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers
7. The First Assistant, by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare
8. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
9. Gentlemen and Players, by Joanne Harris

As with the prior two challenges, there will be a button on the sidebar, which you can click on whenever you want an update. I'll link my reviews back to this original post, so you can click on the review once I've posted it.

Phew! Is there anything I've left out?

Maybe I should do the library challenge...

Kitten's 2009 1st in a Series Book Challenge

While I was over at J. Kaye's signing up for the 100+ book challenge, I found this one. I figured, since I've got Twilight on my reading list, that I may as well sign up for the "1st in a Series Challenge".

Here's the latest list, updated as of July 20, 2009:

1. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
2. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, by Paul Gallico
3. The Second Assistant, by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare
4. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
5. Watership Down, by Richard Adams

This counts towards my 100+ books...which, now that I've written this down, I need to go update my 100+ list! Later gators!

Kitten's 2009 100+ Reading Challenge

I found this over at J. Kaye's Book Blog, through one of the other blogs that I follow, Reading Adventures. I thought I'd sign up; after all, I need to remind myself why I titled this blog "The BOOKKITTEN."

Here is the original post, where J. Kaye explains the guidelines for this challenge. It includes a Mr. Linky if you want to participate.

So here's my list, which will be updated throughout the year. As I finish my books, I will post a link to the post where I review them. The reviews will also link directly back to this page.

And here's the list so far (last updated July 31, 2009):

1. American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfeld
2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer

3. Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
4. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

5. The Perfect Wife: The Life and Choices of Laura Bush, by Ann Gerhart

6. Note to Self: 30 Women on Hardship, Humiliation, Heartbreak, and Overcoming It All, by Andrea Buchanan

7. Tarzan's Tonsilitis, by Alfredo Bryce-Echenique

8. The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett

9. Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street, by Michael Davis

10. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, by Paul Gallico

11. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to New York, by Paul Gallico

12. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Parliament, by Paul Gallico

13. Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Moscow, by Paul Gallico

14. The Middle Place, by Kelly Corrigan

15. When in Doubt, Sing: Prayer in Daily Life, by Jane Redmont

16. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggers

17. A Year of Reading, by Elisabeth Ellington & Jane Freimiler, Ph.D.

18. 1001 Books for Every Mood, by Hallie Ephron, Ph.D.

19. Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books, by Maureen Corrigan
20. You Shall Know Our Velocity! by Dave Eggers

21. The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World, by A.J. Jacobs

22. The Second Assistant, by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare

23. The First Assistant, by Clare Naylor and Mimi Hare

24. It Sucked and Then I Cried, by Heather B. Armstrong

25. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown

26. Watership Down, by Richard Adams

27. Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips

28. Gentlemen and Players, by Joanne Harris

29. French Milk, by Lucy Knisley

30. In a Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson

31. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
32. Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell
33. Little Men, by Louisa May Alcott
34. Jo's Boys, by Louisa May Alcott
35. Holly's Inbox, by Holly Denham
36. Beginner's Greek, by James Collins

37. The Future Homemakers of America, by Laurie Graham

38. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See
39. Rise and Shine, by Anna Quindlen
40. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer
41. The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home, by George Howe Colt
42. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
43. Requiem for a Paper Bag: Celebrities and Civilians Tell Stories of the Best Lost, Tossed and Found Items from Around the World, edited by Davy Rothbart
44. No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club: Diary of a 60th Year, by Virginia Ironside
45. Sky Burial, by Xinran
46. The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama
47. All We Ever Wanted was Everything, by Janelle Brown

P.S. If you want to catch up on the latest additions to the list, all you have to do is go to my right sidebar and click on the button that says, "Kitten's 2009 100+ Reading Challenge." The button has the same illustration that this post has. Wish me luck!

I'm BAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAACCCCKKK!!

I got home from Sturbridge an hour ago, Kittens, and I am now back to reading everyone's updates and responding to comments. It was really good to get away, especially after last week's stresses. I didn't know how much I missed scrapbooking and cropping until I got there and started cropping and scrapping away. I must have done between 25 and 30 pages, and am about done with the first volume of photos that I took from my semester abroad in Paris--thirteen years ago this September. I've scrapped other, more current photos since then, but have sadly neglected this phase of my life. Until now. My goal is to finally have it completed by the end of this year.

Anyhoo, the updates are now going to be more consistent this week. But I just wanted to post a quick note hello just to let you all know I haven't forgotten about you! See y'all later!

Saturday 9: The First Apartment

I don't usually partake in the Saturday 9 meme, but the questions were so good for this one that I had to do it!

I'm cheating a little bit on this one...I'm writing it on Sunday, after getting back from my scrapbooking jaunt, and dating it for yesterday. Sorry, but I feel funny posting it today!

So here, Kittens, are memories of my first apartment.


1. Where had you moved from?
My parents' house.

2. Describe your first apartment.
It was a one-bedroom end unit on the second floor of an L-shaped building. You entered, and you had a huge kitchen to your right, which extended all the way to the left wall. The extension served as a dining area. That's where I had my dining room table. The linoleum ended abruptly, and then I had a small living room with a set of patio doors on the end. The doors led to a balcony so tiny I could barely fit one chair on it. There was a little breakfast nook that separated the kitchen from the dining area.

The bathroom led off of the living room, about five feet from it. The bedroom was immediately to the left of the bathroom. It was a very spacious bedroom with mirrored closets. I didn't mirror them, someone else did.

The apartment was about a mile from the beach, which was one of the main selling points about it. Not to mention, the closets were very roomy and the kitchen was HUGE. It was much bigger than the kitchen I currently have. On sunny afternoons, I used to get home from work, get out of my car, and walk immediately to the beach. It was great to go there to wind down after a long day. I did the same thing during the winter, but I drove instead of walked. Sorry, it was too cold for me!

3. How old were you when you had your apartment?
I was 25.

4. Did you have roommates? If yes, tell us more.
Human roommates, no. A year after I moved in, Maggie came into my life. As a kitten she used to have bad separation anxiety whenever I left for work. She'd block herself in front of the door, and I tried to move her and then leave as fast as I could. It never worked, though; most mornings I'd have to chase her down the hall to get her back in the apartment. And when I finally got her back in and locked the door, she would howl. I mean, it was loud. And then she'd trot over to the bedroom, jump in the window, and watch me as I got into the car and drove away.

5. What was your place of employment then?
The same place where I work now.

6. How were you finances at the time?
They weren't bad, but they weren't great. I never had to live on solely Ramen noodles while I lived there, fortunately. It helped that heat and hot water were included in the rent.

7. Tell us about a lover who spent a night there.
I take the 5th.

8. Tell us about a band you listen to then. (You can cheat. Look it up.)
The same bands I listen to now: Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Springsteen, etc.

9. How long did you live there and why did you move from there?
I lived there for two years. I moved from there for two reasons: One, the rent was going up almost $200 a month, and two, I bought a condo much closer to work and to my family. I still miss it, but not enough to go back.

Friday cat blogging

I'm writing this Thursday afternoon. My meeting got canceled due to the friggin' cold we're having here (seriously, how do Minnesotans do it?), and everyone in the district got sent home. A perfect time to catch up on blogging!

Anyhoo, I was over at Belette's earlier today when she posted this.

Inspired, I decided to give my gals the Obamicon treatment:

Happy Friday, Kittens!

We interrupt this self-imposed blog hiatus...

...for another Thursday Thunk. Jen over at Don't Forget to Flush and Chessa over at Ciao, Chessa! reminded me that I had to have a little fun, and here it is.

I'm still on hiatus till Sunday. In fact, I'm writing this on Wednesday night and post-dating it for tomorrow morning, just in time for Thursday. And awaaaaaaaaaay we go!

***UPDATE, 6,29 am, 1/15/09: I had scheduled to have this published later this afternoon, but now that school has a delayed opening I have time to publish it now. Have a great morning, y'all! See you back here next week!***

1. Whats the coldest temps you've experienced?
Uhhhh...right now! It's below zero in Connecticut at night, with a high of 16 degrees during the day.

2. Whats for dinner tonight?
Leftover veggie loaf. It's a Giada DiLaurentiis recipe and it is tres fantastique!

3. Would you consider this job in Australia?
Hell yeah! Anything to get me away from this friggin' cold weather!

4. What was your favorite subject in high school?
French and English were my two favorite subjects. I developed a love for French that lasts to this day. And I got to read some amazing books, some great American classics, in English class that I otherwise would never have chosen to read.

5. How many hours a day is your tv on?
On the weekdays, it's on for about an hour in the morning, as I get ready for work, and then about two hours at night. I've recently started watching The Rachel Maddow Show on a regular basis. Afterwards I watch the 10:00 news, followed by the 11:00 news. I may, however, start watching 30 Rock. I need some levity in my life.

6. Have you ever received an award?
You mean in my professional life or my personal life? I haven't won anything in my professional life, but when I was a student I won two college scholarships and the Wellesley College book award when I was a junior in high school. I won some other academic prizes, but I won't list them here. These are the ones I was most proud of.

7. What's your mousepad look like?
It's got a picture of the Fairfield University alumni house, along with its web address. (Can you tell where I went to college?)

8. Do you think Bud should do the Thursday Thunk meme?
Bud, as a fellow Nutmegger, you owe it to all of us to do at least one Thursday Thunk meme. I just read your post about Bill Savitt and need to make a comment on it as soon as I'm done with this. Thanks for honoring Connecticut history. Love, Kitten

9. How many browser tabs do you have open right now?
Four

10. If you are a parent, have you or did you ever put Vicks VapoRub on your children under the age of 2?
I am not a parent. As a child, however, my parents never used Vicks VapoRub on me. Come to think of it, I have never used Vicks VapoRub ever.

11. If you had to pick one insect to infest your house for 1 day and after that day they would just suddenly vanish, which insect infestation would you pick?
Why would I want to deal with an insect infestation, even for a day? They're mostly nuisances! But if I had a choice...bees. At least they make honey.

12. What color is your underwear that you are wearing right at this moment?
Purple

13. What was the last think you watched on tv?
WFSB Channel 3 Eyewitness News, 6:00 AM edition (and that's not a think, that's a definite I know)

14. What are your plans for the 4th of July this year?
I don't make 4th of July plans so far in advance...it's January, people! All I know is that I wanna see fireworks, since I didn't get to see 'em last year.

15. Tell us about one absolutely wonderful thing that happened to you as a teenager and every time you think of it, it brings a smile to your face.
Well, I was either 18 or 19 when this happened. I was a freshman in college, and our French professor took us to New York to see an Impressionist artist exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Our guide gave us the tour in French! Afterwards she took our whole class out to dinner at a French restaurant, Restaurant Raphael, and then she got us all orchestra tickets to see Les Miserables!!! It was my first Broadway musical, and I was sooooooooooo thrilled! And then she sent us all back to campus in chauffeur-driven limousines! We didn't have to pay a cent for the entire trip! It was amazing, and a memory that I will always cherish.

16. What product could you sell someone based on your love for it?
The entire Serious Skin Care line at HSN.com. I will never, ever use another skincare system ever again. It has done WONDERS for my skin.

On hiatus for about a week

I knew near the end of last week that this upcoming week is shaping up to be The Week From Hell. I've got a meeting every single night after work this week; I have TWO meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm also driving up to Sturbridge, Mass Friday afternoon for a scrapbooking weekend, and won't return till sometime Sunday afternoon.

I may post, I may not. I'll be checking in to see who else has posted, if I have time to read their blogs. I'll probably be doing some Twitter updates; I'm not sure if I'm gonna get a Thursday Thunk in.

Also, it's the end of the semester, and grades are due, as well as recommendations for next year, so I've been dealing with that.

So I will see you soon. I am not going away forever; the earliest I will be back is probably next Sunday night or Monday morning. Next Monday's Martin Luther King day, which I have off and will be spending playing catch-up with everyone.

As Tigger would say, TTFN! Ta ta for now!

At long last...a book review!

It's been months since I've posted a formal book review on this site, and now that I have the time to complete one, here it is:

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski.

I first discovered this book while watching Oprah over the summer; she had made it one of her Book Club selections. Oprah raved and raved about the book, but didn't give too much of the plot away, other than it was the story about a boy and his dog.

After reading this book, I can understand why she didn't want to do that. Let me say that if I were to give any detail about this book, I would be giving too much of the plot away.

It's one of those books that you can't plow into and read in one sitting; it is definitely not a quick read. Rather, it's one of those books that you savor while you're reading it. There are so many details and plot twists that if you read it too quickly, you'll miss something. Just when you think you've made a prediction about where the story's going to go, the author does something completely different.

It's an intriguing book, an absolute must read, one I highly recommend.

I will say this though, Kittens: you may wish to visit the plot of Hamlet before you read this one.

And that's all I am going to say, other than, read this book!

Shouts out

First of all, a shout out to NurseExec over at Driven to Distraction for helping me out with my new look! She suggested that I take a look at the templates offered over at...

Leelou Blogs, which gets my second shout out of the day.

Thanks for helping a sister out guys!

And now, a public service message...

Never go grocery shopping on the cusp of a big storm.

We here in the Nutmeg State have another f---ing snowstorm hitting us today and tomorrow. Some areas are supposed to get 6 to 8 inches of the white stuff. I had a busy week, and didn't have time to go shopping after work, so I decided to do it this morning.

I left the house at 12:30 and arrived at Price Rite 10 minutes later. There was not a single parking space in the lot. Eventually, though, I managed to find one, and navigated slowly through my way of kids running around the store, moms trying to keep their kids from running around the store, and elderly folks who stand either in the middle or at the end of the aisle, oblivious to the traffic gathering behind them.

I didn't get everything I needed at Price Rite, so I had to make a trip to Stop & Shop to pick up the rest of my list. The parking situation at Stop and Shop was worse, but that wasn't the only thing...

...there were no shopping carts in the store.

Three other people were behind me, shrugging their shoulders, as if to say, "Ya gotta be kidding me!" Fortunately for me, I didn't have that many items to buy, so I just carried around my little bag and put my groceries in there.

The last time I had ever seen a supermarket that crowded was New Year's Eve, 1999, when people were freaking out about Y2K.

People in Connecticut will freak out whenever there's an impending storm. If one flake falls to the ground people will crowd up the stores and stockpile milk, bread, and canned goods, even if it's a storm like the one we're about to have, which is mild compared to blizzard conditions.

If it's a hurricane, though, I can understand. We've been fortunate not to have a major hurricane hit since 1991, but I would be one of the first people at the grocery store to buy gallons of water in addition to bread, milk, and canned goods.

But I can handle a snowstorm. I don't drive in one when the snow's coming down at the rate of two inches an hour; I'm not crazy. When Jodi Rell tells me to stay home, I don't complain.

Digging out, however, is a bitch.

I got home a while ago, and it was flurrying when I walked through the door. I unlocked the door, brought my bags in, and the cats greeted me.

That's when I realized I forgot one very important item.

Purina Cat Chow.

I decided not to go out again, though; they've got enough food for the next two days. Besides, I don't want to deal with the elderly blocking my way again.

Widget woes

It is 2:18 AM, I'm in my PJs, and I should really be in bed, but what have I done in the past 45 minutes? Spent my minutes restoring the widgets to my blog.

I've got most of it done, but I just need to put my Twitter updates back up.

I can't wait for Thecutestblogontheblock.com to come back online. The site looks tres dull without it!

So Kittens, let this be a lesson to you: when you change your templates, and Blogger tells you that widgets will be deleted, and you love your widgets, DON'T USE THAT TEMPLATE!

I tried a template from Pyzam.com earlier today, and that's what wiped out my widgets.

So now that the widgets are almost fully restored (with a few additions to the website list), I am off to bed. Toodles!

Blah on the blog

I know this blog has been a crashing bore of late.

In fact, this blog's current minimalist appearance matches my mood.

Blah, bleh, meh...whatever you wanna call it, I'm in the midst of the January Blahs.

They come every year, like clockwork. They start somewhere after I've come home from the New Year's bash that by best friend holds every year, and they officially take hold of my psyche the minute I wake up on January 2nd. They usually leave around the first week of March, which, coincidentally, is when my birthday falls. They make February, the shortest month in calendar days, the longest one for me.

It doesn't help that the world outside is totally devoid of color. It doesn't help that we've been getting snowstorm after snowstorm here in Connecticut and that I've been snowbound several times. It doesn't help that every morning, I wake up and drive to work facing the same color palette: grey, brown, and white, with the occasional blue sky thrown in for good measure.

I know a lot of it is psychological. Lots of people call refer to this time of year as "the winter doldrums." It's the feeling that some people get after the holiday season: you're going from event to event or party to party, or you're shopping for gifts, or you're just plain giddy from the tidings of the season in general.

And now all the hustle and bustle is over, aaaaannnnnnnnnndd...now what?

For me, every year, regardless of my emotions during the holidays (be it a great holiday season, or a so-so one like this past one), I'm always going, going, going, and then January hits, and then--BOOM! Letdown. As in, "OK, what do I do with my time now, since the weather doesn't let me go out much and it's just too damn cold outside?"

I realized in the past year that some of my feelings may actually be physically related. During my last physical, my GP drew blood work, and upon analysis, found that I have a vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D. The sunshine vitamin.

I don't get in the sunlight too often during the winter, and the sun directly affects one's mood...

Hmmm...

Is there a connection? I think so. My doctor started me on vitamin D supplements, and I've noticed an improvement in my energy levels and my mood. It also helps that I've been seeing a therapist over the past year for the depression I've had on and off throughout my life.

In spite of these measures, I've still got the blahs, but they're not as draining as they've been in the past.

I'm still going to feel blah, bleh, meh, or whatever you wanna call it for the time being, though. It's a feeling I don't get over until spring, when the sun shines more and color returns to the earth.

And despite what people say, white, is NOT a color.

Which reminds me, we've got another friggin' snowstorm coming tomorrow. Sigh...

***UPDATE, 5:14 pm: I go to change the template, and am finally successful, and what do you know?!?! MY WIDGETS ARE GONE!!! Now my mood has gone from bad to worse...

Thursday Thunk: January 8, 2009

Time for another Thursday Thunk, Kittens! Enjoy!

1. Are you a celebrity news junkie?
Heck yeah! I love reading the entertainment sections of all the news websites, and I'm on People.com more times a day than I would care to admit. (I am aware, however, that there are many net surfers in this world who are far worse than I am--or maybe I'm in denial of how much of a junkie I really am).

2. Have you or anyone in your family ever had braces?
Oh yeah. Sister Kitten and I both had braces. I had mine from the middle of sixth grade till the end of eighth grade. March 31, 1988 till May 31, 1990. Don't ask me how I remember the dates. I did have some other forms of orthodontia, though, in the days pre-braces, but that was to get my teeth ready for the tinsel.

3. Name 4 things in your garage that you don't think anyone else has in theirs.
I live in a condo complex, and have a parking lot. I'll use my parents' garage for this answer:
1. 2 cars (that counts as two things)
2. old quilts and blankets
3. a slop sink

4. Do you order Girl Scout cookies?
Every year! My faves are Thin Mints, Tagalongs, and Do-si-dos.

5. If you have a cat or a dog, what brand of dog/cat food do you feed them?
Mags and Gabs eat Purina Cat Chow Indoor Cat Formula. They love it! Sometimes they'll chew a hole in the bag when I bring it home from the grocery store. I have to put it in their plastic food bin before this happens, but I'm not always so lucky.

6. When you cook, do you use measuring cups/spoons?
It depends what I'm cooking. If I'm baking, I measure; when you bake, if you don't have the precise measurements to the ingredients, your final product may be screwed. Anything else, however, I eyeball the measurements.

7. If you were stranded on a desert island, how many sand castles would you build?
None! I'd be concentrating on finding food and getting off the damn island!

8. What's one thing you own too many of?
Scrapbooking supplies, especially paper and stickers. I don't ever have to go into a scrapbooking or craft store again (though I probably will, anyway). Scrapbooking is such an addiction!

9. If given the chance to go to the moon, would you?
I'm not sure about this one. I know I'll be OK once I get to the moon, but it's the journey to and from Earth that gives me pause.

10. Talk radio - listen or not?
Hell yeah! I'm a talk radio junkie! I like certain shows, however, more than others. I'm not a fan of Rush Limbaugh or Art Bell, for instance. I used to like Dr. Laura, but she wore on me very rapidly. (Is she still on the air?)

Actually, I like all forms of radio!

11. When you put silverware in the dishwasher or in the drainer to dry, do you put the handles up or down?
Handles up. This way I don't get stabbed when I unload the dishwasher.

12. Video Games for kids - good or not?
Good in small doses. If I were a parent I'd monitor the video game time verrrrrry carefully. I don't want my kid to get addicted, and I don't want them to get carpal tunnel syndrome when they're older.

13. Share a website with us.
New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com. Sorry it's not something more interesting or funky, but it's the best newspaper in the entire world, hands down.

14. Water - bottle or tap?
Tap.

15. Have you ever eaten a giant jawbreaker, the ones that are the size of the palm of your hand, all the way to the end?
No. I've never liked jawbreakers. I've always been a chocolate girl. However, gimme a solid chocolate jawbreaker and we could reconsider...

Our temporary look...

I was looking for a new template on thecutestblogontheblock.com, but the site is down for maintenance, so I went to another website with Blogger templates.

Well, I screwed up the code for adding that particular template, and the result is the plain lily white minima template that you're currently observing.

We'll be getting a new template once thecutestblogontheblock.com updates itself and gets a new server (at least that's the message I got when I logged on to their blog).

I guess there's no better sign for me to wash up and go to bed...g'night everyone!

If Congress even CONSIDERS bailing these guys out...

...I'm just gonna weep.

Read this article from CNN and you'll understand why.

Getting my act together--finally

Now that I've been home for a solid 24 hours (we had a snow/ice day today), I've set aside the following goals for myself, which I hope to complete by Saturday before I go to bed:

• fold all of the laundry and put it away
• clean kitchen counters and wash the kitchen floor
• sort through the pile of junk mail on my dining room table
• thoroughly clean bathroom
• dust and vacuum living room and bedroom
• get to the Y at least once

I'm almost done with the first goal, and about halfway done with the second one. Yeah, these are small, but given that I haven't been home much in the last 10 days (if at all), it's what needs to be done. And once I have a clean house, I can feel accomplished.

Thanks to Jen at Don't Forget to Flush for the inspiration!

Malia and Sasha go to Washington

I couldn't imagine going to school accompanied by an entire motorcade, but that's what happened to Malia and Sasha Obama yesterday, on their first day at the Sidwell Friends School. Photos were released of the pre-departure activities, of the President-Elect wishing his daughters good luck at their new school.

I was watching this story unfold last night at the end of the NBC Nightly News, when Brian Williams presented this clip:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I really respected Brian Williams before this, but after seeing this, my respect for the man has increased much more.

As with Messieurs Williams and Chancellor, I, too, will say that this is the last time I will write about the Obama daughters on this blog. I'll write about their parents when they make news, but I won't write about these two little girls. We need to let them be kids.

R.I.P.: Mayor Mike

Those of you who don't live in Connecticut will have no idea who I'm talking about when you initially read the heading. Once you finish, however, you will know.

Mayor Mike was Mike Peters, who was mayor of Hartford, our capital city, from 1993 until 2001. He was an extremely popular mayor, truly a man of the people. He wasn't one of those stuffy, fuddy-duddy, serious politicians. He was approachable, and always took time to listen to anyone who wanted to talk to him. Mayor Mike had a real casual, yet affective, way of approaching city politics. Here was a man who, as many media outlets have said in the days following his death, was more comfortable talking politics on a barstool than in a boardroom.

I remember a CBS News reporter once called Hartford "the forgotten city between New York and Boston." How right he was about that! This is a city that has long been overshadowed by our bigger siblings to the south and north, a city that many think is unremarkable, a city that becomes a ghost town Monday through Friday at 5 PM, when all of the commuters go to their home in the suburbs.

Mayor Mike, however, believed in his city. I mean, really believed in it. He loved Hartford. He wanted to see it become, as the advertising slogan says, "New England's Rising Star." He tore down drug-riddled housing projects and rebuilt them, so they would be safer. He helped build up after school programs. He tried to get the Patriots to move down here, and they were seriously considering it!

Many hockey fans, however, will remember Mayor Mike because, under his term, the Whalers moved down south in 1997, where they eventually became the Carolina Hurricanes. (NOTE: as you'll see in this Wikipedia article, it wasn't Mayor Mike's fault that the Whalers left!) Their Stanley Cup win several years back was a very bitter pill for many Whaler fans to swallow.

Mayor Mike opened up a restaurant in Hartford in 2004 and named it--what else?--Mayor Mike's. He wasn't involved in politics, but he still frequented his establishment to talk to the people.

He had been in declining health for several years, having disclosed several months back that he had cirrosis of the liver. He received a liver transplant, and was feeling better, even contemplating running for Hartford mayor again in 2011. However, he developed kidney problems as a result of the transplant, and his health declined very quickly after that. He was 60 when he died; far, far, far too young.

I saw Mayor Mike on TV not long ago, and he looked awful. He was really gaunt, with thinning hair and a higher voice. He still had his upbeat enthusiasm and stamina, though; that could never be dimmed.

Mayor Mike was not into corrupt politics or scandal. He was a man who wanted to help his city, his people, his state. He didn't care about party lines; Democrats were none too thrilled that he endorsed Governor Rowland in the 2002 gubernatorial election (but remember what happened there).

Voters responded; he won by landslide victories in 1995, 1997, and 1999.

Ironically, though, even though he was much beloved, he wasn't very powerful as a mayor. Under the Hartford city charter at the time, the City Council held more powers than the mayor did. You'll find out more about it in the link I'm about to give you in a minute. This inbalance of power helped contribute to Mayor Mike's decision not to run again for mayor in 2001.

Read more about Mayor Mike Peters and his accomplishments here. The Courant did a great job on this one.

Home

Well, Kittens, I'm finally home from my housesitting gig. Lemme tell ya, I was sooo eager to get home and be with my babies and now that I am finally back in my own space it just feels...weird. Like this is a foreign place to me.

Maybe it's because I haven't been home for an extended period of time since Christmas Eve. I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day at my parents' house, was home on the 26th and 27th, then drove down to BFF's Sunday night and slept over. We went to NYC the next day, then I slept over again because we got back at 12:30 in the morning. I went back to my place on Tuesday, spent the night there, and then the next day was New Year's Eve. BFF had a party, and I slept over again. My housesitting gig started New Year's Day, and it finally ended today.

So now I'm home again, I have Internet access, and life is good!

Blogging will be light this month. Well, every time I say that I end up posting and posting and posting. I've got meetings every single night next week, except for Friday, when I'm going to Sturbridge, Mass for the weekend with a couple of girlfriends. We're going scrapbooking! Yea! I haven't scrapbooked in months, and I miss it!!!

Anyhoo, here's a list of topics I hope to address this month:

• the end of the G.W. Bush administration (thank God!)
• Senator Al Franken
• Mayor Mike, R.I.P. (CT residents will know what I'm talking about
• the 2008 holiday season, including my recent trip to NYC
• the Obama inauguration
• a weekend away with the gals on a scrapbooking retreat
• my revived interest in cross stitch
• a couple of new book reviews
• some holiday loot and New Year's traditions
• why I heart Brian Williams
• the Obama girls come to Washington
• updates on Project: Save Kitten's Nails! (Thanks for the title, Yaya!)
• my take on celebrity baby names

...and whatever else comes to mind this January.

I guess I should make dinner now. Mama Cat pimped me out with some yummy food before I left Christmas day, and I've got a mini meatloaf waiting to bake. I know it isn't much, but I haven't had a chance to grocery shop or plan meals since...well, before the holidays!

I did see a very yummy recipe for Greek-style shepherd's pie, though...maybe that's worth a trip to the grocery store tomorrow.

Ahhh, home...it's good to be back!