Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Happy Mardi Gras Kitties! No regrets!

Proud Mancat Monday

As my doggie sister Dana would say, "OHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMIGOSH!"

I WON!!!!!!!

I won an award for "Best Musical Movie Review"for my review of "Sweeney Todd" as well as (and this was such an unexpected honor) the "Lifetime Achievement for Best Movie Reviews on Friday."

I am both humbled and overwhelmed.

A big thanks to all the members of the Acatemy, especially Fin who put all of this together. Also a huge thank you to my mommy for allowing me to blog in the first place, and who is nice enough to rent movies when I ask for them. And last but not least, to my beautiful Sammie-pie for all of her love and support - I couldn't do it without you, princess!

* * *

In other news, mommy is doing better but we think it may take awhile for her to be back to 100%. She still has a lot of congestion in her chest and is super tired, but the cough is getting better and she doesn't think that she looks quite as much like a zombie as she did last week.

Fin's Acatemy Awards Movie Review Nomination

I have decided to enter in my review of "Sweeney Todd" for consideration for an Acatemy Award. Click here to see this oldie but goodie.

This is so exciting!

Wordy Wednesday - Big News

Well, kitties, I have some big news that I couldn't tell you before today.

Mommy wasn't in Helen alone. Mommy was with the ex-Almost Dad. Except he's not an ex anymore.

How did that happen? You may well ask, considering the very sad and upset post I made about the Almost Dad back in August of last year. You may remember, he left mommy out of the blue. And the reasons mommy assumed he had for leaving were spot on. (Mommy knows Almost Dad and his family pretty well.) Anyway, while he was gone mommy started her classes again and went to a Braves baseball game and helped me blog and kept living her life and trying to not miss him or keep hurting over the whole thing. And then one Friday afternoon she left work and there he was waiting for her next to her car in the parking lot, and instead of driving away and ignoring him she let him talk to her. To make a long story short, Almost Dad realized that what he and mommy and we furry babies had was too good to lose over anything else in the entire world, and that he was going to do anything and everything he could to get it all back and make it work. So mommy gave him one more chance, because even though he hurt her she still loved him and missed him - and because Ivy was driving her crazy with the crying. (Ivy even started to lose her pretty furs!)

So Almost Dad came back into our lives. (And Ivy's fur grew back and her crying stopped.)

And on Valentine's Day, Mommy and Almost Dad went to Helen to celebrate.


And at Helen, Almost Dad asked mommy if he could be our Forever Dad. And she said yes.


I suppose this just proves, kitties, that love can conquer all and that sometimes happy endings come even when you think there is no hope for it. Mommy is very glad she took the chance and trusted Almost Dad to be the man she knew he could be. We are all very happy, especially Ivy.

I couldn't share the news before today because Almost Dad had to break the news to his family. They are not happy, but maybe that will change. But even if it doesn't, we are happy and excited enough for everyone.

Mancat Monday - Where Mommy Was

Mommy visited Helen, Georgia this past weekend instead of staying home and snuggling with me. Helen was originally a saw mill town that developed in the early 20th century, but in the late 1960s was renovated to resemble an Alpine village in order to attract visitors.

Helen is not only picturesque, but it is also in the North Georgia Mountains, which means there is a lot of gorgeous scenery. It is also right on the Chatthoochee River.

Mommy saw lots of horsies pulling people around. This one was the cutest - it looked very Cinderella-esque.

Mommy's favorite part of Helen was probably the Chattahoochee River. The Chattahoochee forms just north of Helen, and the waters are all sparkly and clear, unlike the water that you see closer to Atlanta, which can be all dark and icky.

Mommy had a good time, but it was unfair that she had a good time and didn't take me with her.

Also, mommy and I will be taking a short break from blogging for a bit. Mommy is still busy at work, and has classwork to do, and is still recovering from bronchitis. (Yes, she went to Helen and walked around in the cold with bronchitis, but she's stubborn and it didn't make her any worse. She actually felt better and was coughing less yesterday, but she is super tired.) That means that mommy has less time to help me blog, and I have to spend more time purring on her. Sigh. A mancat's job is never done.

Don't forget about me, my sweet Sammie-pie!

Friday Movie Review - Made of Honor

Made of Honor (2008)

Directed By: Paul Weiland
Written By: Adam Sztykiel and Deborah Kaplan

Yes, this movie stars McDreamy himself: Patrick Dempsey. For some reason, that always seems to excite the ladybeans.


In this movie, McDreamy plays Tom Bailey, a manbean who likes women a lot, but doesn't like them enough to keep them around all the time. The only exception is the friend he made in college, Hannah. To him Hannah is different - she's a wonderful friend, and he has refused to ever make their relationship romantic, out of fear of losing her. When Hannah leaves for Europe for a short while, Tom realizes how much he misses her and that he may actually love her as more than a friend. Just as he is willing to make a change in their relationship, Hannah returns engaged to a Scottish Duke . . . and asks Tom to be her maid of honor. Tom decides to use the opportunities that being her maid of honor will present him with to prove to Hannah that he is the perfect man for her, not the Duke.



"Made of Honor" is a lot of silly fun. Some of the best parts are when Tom is with his group of buddies, and they are all discussing the upcoming wedding, his romance with Hannah, and most especially when they are over at his apartment helping him pack gift baskets. Tom being the maid of honor gives not only him but his friends a chance to get in touch with their more "feminine" side. Also, once the setting moves to Scotland, there is absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking scenery. I give "Made of Honor" two paws up for being a fun and romantic movie that both mancats and ladycats can enjoy watching.

Romantic Karaoke with Dana

Well, yesterday's Wordless Wednesday karaoke came to us courtesy of Loki. Loki felt that was the most knightly love song he had ever heard, and he approves of the movie.

As you might imagine, Dana's choice was a little more, shall we say, upbeat . . . and eccentric. I'm not sure if any other furry would have this song in their top 10 list of most romantic songs ever, but that's our Dana. At least it has a great beat and is easy to sing along to!



(Mommy squeals over the manbean David Cassidy in this one, too. Sheesh. Mommy is embarrassing!)

Wordless Wednesday - Romantic Karaoke

Tortie Tuesday - Romantic Karaoke

Well, it was our turn to think up a romantic song for this week of love! To be honest, there are a lot of songs we like. (Mommy is a big music lover, so we furry babies get to hear music ALL the time at our house!) But to be honest, as many songs as we love, there are few that can really touch our hearts and speak to our souls. Here is one of those few - The Beatles "In My Life."

Mancat Monday - Award and Romantic Karaoke

One of my favorite mancats, Jimmy Joe, passed an award to me! Here it is!

This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

WOW! I am so excited to get this! As you kitties know, I've been a little . . . well, let's be honest . . . I've been A LOT behind in visiting my friends. Mommy finds time over the weekend to help me set up my blog, but she doesn't always find time to help me visit my friends.

And now for the hard part . . . which 8 kitties should I give it to? So many of my friends are pawsome, plus since I haven't visited much recently I'm not sure who has already received this award.

1. Adan and Lego
2. Captain Jack, Sir Dante, and Fagin
3. My sweetie-pie Samantha and her pawsome brother Mr. Tigger
4. Vampy Vic
5. My look-alike cuz JB
6. Mickey, Georgia, and Tillie
7. The lovely Parker
8. Miss Marilyn Monreow
   

In other news, mommy is up for an even busier few weeks. She has a mid-term project to work on for her Adolescent Development class, plus the Spring Semester is always her busiest time at work. AND, if you can believe this, Grandmama's car got sick on Saturday and scared Grandmama (and mommy), so Grandmama's car is now in the car hospital and probably won't get to come home until late this afternoon. Since the car they used to use as emergency back-up is sick too, mommy took the day off work to play taxi driver for Grandmama and Uncle Sean. Mommy is super grateful that where she works is nice about things like this. My paws are definitely crossed that Grandmama's car is all better soon!

And since this week is going to be so busy (and Saturday is Valentine's Day!) I conferred with my furry siblings and came up with some pawsomely romantic songs to post for the next few days. So, here is the first one!

Here is John Denver singing one of the most romantic songs ever written. It always makes me and my mommy get all leaky-eyed when we hear it, because it is so beautiful.

Friday Movie Review - 27 Dresses

This month is February, and the season for love, so this month I am reviewing Romance! This next movie is one I recently watched with mommy while we were snuggled on the bed during one of our freak super cold snaps.

27 Dresses (2008)

Directed By: Anne Fletcher

Written By: Aline Brosh McKenna

Jane (Katherine Heigl) is an amazingly organized and helpful ladybean who has managed to be a wonderful Maid of Honor to countless brides . . . well, to be exact, 27 brides. As the film opens, we see Jane rushing back and forth between two weddings that are being held on the same night . . . with her as Maid of Honor for both. This catches the eye of a man in the audience, Kevin, who happens to be the writer of the "Commitments" column in the New York Journal, and he sees Jane and her unique hobby as a way to further his career.

At the same time, Jane's sister Tess comes back to town to stay with her, and manages to catch the eye of Jane's boss, who Jane has been in love with for a long time. Soon Tess is engaged to marry Jane's crush, and is expecting Jane to be her perfect Maid of Honor. Jane finds herself planning the wedding of her sister to the man that SHE is in love with, while Kevin insinutates himself into her life by covering the wedding for his column. Despite herself, Jane begins opening up to Kevin and seeing him as more than the cynical and bitter man she first perceived him to be. Likewise, Kevin sees the warmth and generosity in Jane, and how it is expressed through her role of eternal bridesmaid.


However, the stress between the two of them begins to build as Kevin realizes the real reason Jane is upset about her sister's wedding, and as Jane finds out that Kevin pursued their relationship just to use her for an article. Can their relationship ever be healed? Will Jane's sister really marry? Does Jane even care anymore? Will Jane forever be a bridesmaid, and never be a bride?

This movie is well done. Katherine Heigl does a brilliant performance as Jane. Often, a kitty can tell exactly what she is thinking solely by her body language alone. Her expressive face and movements say more than any amount of words can. The story is painful, touching, and funny all at the same time. I give "27 Dresses" two paws up and a chirp!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful mommy keeps this chair right in front of the window, and this box in the chair, just so that I can have a good birdie and squirrel watching post in the dining room.

Wordless Wednesday - Growing Up!

Tortie Tuesday

A tortie can never be too clean, especially when she has extra toesies.

Mancat Monday

I hope this isn't too much mancatly tummy floof for the ladies. It's all for you, Sammie-pie!

Oh, and Happy Groundhog's Day!