A great cat massage tutorial!

I found this (via the Glamour Shots carnival) on Keeping Up With Mom.

This is for all you cat lovers out there. Don't forget to use your right hand or your left hand or both hands.

Glamour!

If you don't already know Kristina, it's about time you check out her blog. Right now she's hosting a Glamour Shots carnival, and I thought that would be a fun thing to participate in.

I don't have an official "Glamour" shot, but I do have this!

This was one of my senior pictures that all the grownups in my life loved, and I hated. It just didn't look like me to me. I would have never made that "come hither" face or posed like that, and certainly not in a hooded sweatshirt. But it was my parents' favorite, so it has been prominently displayed ever since.


However, now that I am 11 years removed from this photo shoot, I actually like this picture! Isn't that backwards? Aren't you supposed to love these when you first get them, and then be completely embarrassed by them in the years to come?

Expert advice

I was thinking this morning about my blog post about chicken coops, and especially the part where I touted a belief in following my own instincts when it comes to parenting and running a household in general. I wrote about how I rarely consult the experts.

I realized that I had given myself a little (or maybe a lot) too much credit. There is one expert that I consult quite frequently.

This is my mom.

You may also call her Nurse Jacque or TechnoMom.

I rely on her a lot. She is always my first call when my son is running a fever and I need some guidance or just a little comfort.

She recognizes when I'm being silly about something and helps me be smart, without making me feel like I was being silly in the first place. 

She's my official Weight Watchers buddy. (She's lost more than 35 pounds, and she's still going strong.)

She's really smart with computers and her Farkle score is unbeatable.

She's an expert seamstress and a wonderful cook.

She's genuine, and brave enough to reach out to people. She's a wonderful example of friendship and caring.

She has molded the way I feel about being a mother. She has always been a very tender mother and grandmother. She is very nurturing and empathetic.

And maybe that's the reason I don't feel the need to consult the other experts. If I can raise my children to know that they are loved and capable, the way that she and my dad did, I will be happy.

But I'm sure I'll have some more questions along the way.

Take me to your leader

I bet this dog's home planet is really stinky.

"Greetings, Earthlings!" from our Boston terrier, Panda Bear

aka Snorty McSnorkleson

aka Stink Bomb

aka Alien Being