I take it all back... July has actually brought to me some really good things... it wasn't until this afternoon that I finally realized it.

Sure, the accident sucked - but not one was really hurt...the drama after the accident isn't resolved yet - but it could be worse... the A/C being out sux but I am leaving again tomorrow - and I haven't had to endure it for the past week like my roommate has.

I was able to spend 2 weeks with mom and only once argue with her...
I was able to spend 2 weeks in town and not fight with Lil Bro...
KS came back into my life ...

And the best news of all I'll share with you all a little later... the real world gets to find out first. But come back in a few hours and you'll have the scoop too.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 04:49 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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While there is still much drama from the accident and arrest that has not been resolved (and I'm sure I'll be bitching about that later), things are looking up in my part of the world.

I have gotten a few more moments with Dad and a lot more time to talk with Miss Kindred Spirit (KS from here on out).

I am tired and ready to close my eyes, so heavy with sleep I will be gone before my head hits the pillow for sure... but I am so happy to have spent the wee hours of the morning really talking. Not arguing, not trying to one up the other with a new story, not convincing anyone on a point of view, not bad mouthing someone who screwed the pooch... just talking...

Those good times really can wear you out though... peace!

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Last night I had the opportunity to have dinner with the only person I still know from high school. It was the best dinner I have had in ages.

The food was food...nothing all that great. It was talking with her again after so long like we had never spent a day apart...sitting across from the table and realizing she is a kindred spirit I have missed in my life so desperately these past few years...it was the comfort I felt when she said in her own words the things I have felt so alone in feeling sometimes...

She is a smart, talented, beautiful woman that I feel privileged to know and selfish for not supporting all this time. This time, I hope we stay in touch...

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Ok, so family time is a little weird now that we're all making an effort to learn how to get along as individual adults...

Dad now 'pretends' he doesn't know what I'm talking about when Lil Bro and I mention the word beaver...

Mom asks me if her thong is showing & if I'd go bra shopping with her...

and still kids say the funniest things...as I was telling Lil Bro about my visit with SWG & Wife and their respective accents I was terrified I would accidentally repeat and offend them with, he jumped in with..."but that's perfect for you...you're Scottish and you're into that hick thing..." Apparently a cowboy hat, country music, and a few uncultured dates here and there makes me 'into that hick thing'...hehehe

Ah...family time...nothing else like it in the world...

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As we were leaving the Dodger game tonight (and dodging traffic on our way back to the car) I crossed paths with a big black truck given a hefty lift...an obvious dune junkie...with lots of badass paraphernalia...and a big set of black balls hanging off the back...

It was the funniest thing I saw all night...

So, does your ride got balls?

Posted by: Princess Cat at 03:30 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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For the first time in a VERY long time I was damn near packed and ready to head to the airport last night, almost 24 hours before I even need to be in line for security. I haven't stressed out and stayed up all night, or even lost a wink of sleep...What is this world coming to?

With all my extra time I have been trying to tidy up the house a little. Doing the dishes I've neglected, tossing the trash that will stink when I get back in two weeks, and trying to clean out the fridge. Sounds fun, right?

Though, I talked to Dad and Lil Bro for a while too. Lil Bro is trying to get cleared to go back to work after his fall on Tuesday morning and Dad is running around like a wild man with company visitors in town and the sudden death of a close coworker's father. I'm avoiding Mom for the time being. She's very stressed out about work and the airport always makes that worse. It was important to her that she pick me up instead of depending on my Dad so she will be picking me up tonight ... and I think that's about all I can take of her for today. I love her but she is hard to take in sudden and/or large doses.

I generally dread going to LA because there are so many bad memories there, so much sadness, and an overwhelming sense of failure. I don't have any high school friends left to speak of either. On top of all that, I am going there this trip to sort through the remaining contents of the life I used to have in San Diego and I still miss so terribly.

But I am hopeful that things will be different this time. Tomorrow night, Dad, Lil Bro & GF, and I will go to a Dodgers game together...something we have never done before. We generally don't do more than have dinner together and don't make each other that important. In fact, Lil Bro has never trusted me to even meet any of his romantic interests before. So...I'm ready to go...and waiting to see what the next week has to offer.

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...I haven't got one...do you? I do however have a pretty good, albeit brief, trackrecord when it comes to playing Texas Hold 'Em.

The first time I played was about a year and a half ago. The boys loaned me chips so I could play (it was only nickle, dime, quarter) and I had a little help from one of the wives. In less than two hours the boys were so tired of playing against a newb that just wouldn't give up and lose, they ended up just calling the game. I took my chips, paid back what I had borrowed, and walked away with $11.

A few weeks ago I joined my roommate for a small tournament he hosts at our place every couple of weeks. This time there were just four of us playing with a $10 buy in. I was so rusty on poker they had to tell me the hands and write down their hierarchy. We played 2 hands no bets, cards up...just to get me reaquainted. In a matter of an hour I managed to become the chip leader while taking out my roommate and one of the other guys. Ultimately I lost to the last guy but I walked away without losing a penny. Not bad for a newb against 3 experienced players that assumed they'd be robbing me of my $10, easy.

Muwahahaha...Nothing makes a girl's day like sending the boys home pouting...

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In just about a week I will be returning home. Seeing the parents for a week first but knowing I'm going home to this makes the torture family time in LA more bearable.

Granted, it will be a very short visit...but being home is being home...and I'll take what I can get.

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Posted by: Princess Cat at 06:27 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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As long as I can remember I have had pets. But in college I could never have any that lived with me...apartments never allowed for a cat or a dog. For my 22nd birthday I got a fish tank. It satisfied me for a while but fish are hard to play with. I still really wanted a pet I could interact with. One of my managers had a lovebird that she wanted to get rid of so I took it off her hands.

Big mistake... Birds SUCK... No matter how cute they seem in the store I will never own one ever again...unless I can stick him in a room far far away from where I spend the majority of my time...

Anyhow, this bird ended up being called Little Fucker because he never shut up and if you let him out to fly around the apartment, he shit on everything. Not cool.

First of all, it was a single lovebird. They are supposed to be kept in pairs but no way in hell was I spending money on another bird when I didn't even know if I would like the first one.

Second, she had it in a tweety bird cage. Apparently lovebirds go a little insane in round cages...according to some book I read. So I found a large, square cage that someone was giving away and gave it a new home.

He didn't seem to care about these improvements, his toys, or his food. He ended up being cool for only four forms of entertainment... 1) he 'sang along' to Pink Floyd, 2) he danced in the sink when the water was running, 3) it was pretty funny to watch the cat chase him and tackle him to the ground,* 4) he would hump the shit out of one of his toys...which was funny except it had a bell on it...

Little Fucker ended up going home with a semi-psycho bird infatuated couple for about $50. I sold the cage to another family for $90. So, minus what I spent on the bird's stuff, I probably made at least $100 off the sucker.

But I tell you what...I'll have a whole house full of birds before I even think about letting a live snake into my house...

*My mom's indoor, de-clawed cat came to stay with me for a month and never actually hurt the bird.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 07:52 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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With all this talk of the G-8 and the music channels running repeats of Live 8, I decided I need to do something to help end poverty in Africa...and I'm asking for your help...

Readers, I bring you the Princess Cat Cock Ring...

Buy one today!
For your pleasure...
for your woman...
for the children...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 06:20 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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I was bored one evening as I waited for my shuttle to take me home from the airport. I took out my camera and just started snapping. The pictures weren't coming out the way I wanted them to and I was getting frustrated. I was aggravated with the way things felt so out of my control in the rest of my life as well. The pic below was the last one I took that evening. And it is my favorite one of them all.

(click to enlarge)

The pic struck me when I took it, and if you make it large enough on screen it still does, as the essence of what I struggle so hard to find in the turmoil of my life...moments of peace. As the cars are speeding past and the barriers are locking me you in - imagery that easily represents the rapid pace of life, the unending drama, and the course I must plod along to succeed - there is still peace, standing still behind it all.

If you look at just the right moment, in just the right way, there you will find it...peace...

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I am an absolute Food Network junkie. I love Alton Brown's wackiness, the factory tours of Unwrapped, trying to understand the Japanese of Iron Chef, putting Rachel Ray on mute while I try to steal ideas from her...but most of all, I LOVE Paula Deen. There is just no way you can watch her show and not at least smile a little on the inside. That woman is the cheeriest, most genuine person I have ever seen on TV.

She's a little plump (like I expect anyone telling me how great the food is should be) but doesn't ever act like it bothers her. She always has herself together, coordinated on the show, and simply does not make a mistake. She's warm and inviting...with her Savannah accent...she's the stereotype of a perfect Southern mother. Hell, I'd marry one of her sons just to have her as my mother-in-law.

I wouldn't be so convinced she's a genuine delight if I hadn't seen her wedding show. They followed her around as she was preparing to get married. She was excited about marrying her neighbor, overwhelmed with all the preparations, and discouraged about her weight when it came to the dress. Superwoman needed help and even in her moments of frazzle, she reached out for that help without acting like she was losing a part of herself.

And I simply laughed out loud when the woman making the cake offered her a sample..."You offer a fat girl cake, you think she's gonna turn it down?" What woman hasn't said that in her head?

If you haven't seen her show, go watch it. She'll brighten your day.
I hope that someday I can live up to even a fraction what this amazing woman is. And if I had kids, I couldn't think of a stronger, lovelier, more exemplary role model for them (on TV, that is).

Posted by: Princess Cat at 01:01 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Two swipes of the credit card later, I have the rest of my July planned.

Next Thursday I'll be flying back to Cali and staying for 12 glorious days. Most of them near the San Fernando Valley (ick) to sort through stuff the 'rents are storing for me but a few will be spent in beautiful San Diego. Have I mentioned how much I love going home?

Just two days after I return from that adventure I will be whisked off to lovely (?) Jackson, MS via the Memphis airport for a terrific weekend adventure family reunion.

Hopefully I'll still be blogging most of those days. Let me know if you are a blogger in any of these areas that would like to rescue me from my family grab a drink.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 02:06 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Just in case you can't get enough of your fireworks this evening...have some at home from this site! Go click away in the black space on the page.
Just don't let the Gunner's Mate from your local Navy ship get a hold of this... I made that mistake once and he played with it for hours. The boom is kind of nice on the subwoofer though... ENJOY!

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I got this e-mail from Capt Bourland in Iraq and could think of no better way to blog about the 4th. What better man to speak of freedom than one who knows what that fight feels like? When I asked him if I could post his letter he replied, "No problem, Go for it. Kick butt and take names." Hehehe...will do...

Happy Fourth of July! YouÂ’re Marines are conducting operations throughout Iraq continuing the hunt for insurgents and terrorist so that they will no longer intimidate the US or anyone else. Additionally they continue to rebuild the war torn country and train the Iraqi Army to defend their homeland.

That’s how I was going to start this email until I got a letter from a friend who was injured and returned to the states. He told me how “Around here you wouldn't know a war is going on” and “I really think that we will be an afterthought once we return”. How could that be I thought. I know we are not in the news much except for the quick blurp about “another service member was killed in Iraq today, now for the weather”. As many of you have said why doesn’t the press cover the good stuff of what’s happening there? You guess is as good as mine.

All of the Coalition forces here are kicking butt. Just as our for fathers did when this great country declared its independence July 4th 1776 from Great Britain. Since then America has been going strong and taking names. Your service members go forth and continue to do great things despite of what the general populace is or what people think we should or should not do. We donÂ’t write policy but we are the first to enforce it. I know my friend above probably didnÂ’t see the entire pie but the fact that he saw that piece made an impression. ALL of you are a vital piece in the success of our mission. All of you need to continue to support your troops, fight what is bad and unjust and like our forefathers and stand for what is right. Not just on the 4th of July but all the time. America is the land of the free, and home of the brave. We cant make Iraq or Afghanistan like America overnight but we will establish their country and perhaps make them feel chills when they hear their National Anthem like I do when I hear mine. You can help in doing this by supporting your warriors!

Despite what the press says or how it looks to some when they ask themselves why do we have American forces over there? We are helping other countries to be free, to be One nation indivisible and “a republic for which it stands” so they can be a free country as well. If this takes us kicking terrorist butt to do it, so be it. We are the Marines for the job and our 4th will be special in its own way.

I love this country, what it stands for, and what it will always be, America, land of the free. So when you are celebrating your Fourth of July holiday and watching the fireworks know in you heart that brave men and women will not let you down and we will keep the wolf a bay and keep America free.

Semper Fidelis and God Bless America.

Posted by: Princess Cat at 08:38 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I'm sure this is news to everyone else in the 'sphere but sitting here with my wine tonight I have finally realized why drinking is so beneficial to society...

You simply just don't care quite as much.

I am known to be slightly high strung at times and somewhat overly concerned with what people think of my words and actions. However, Mr. Carolina is right, I am always up for a drink. I'm not quite sure though that Mr. Alabama is right though when he says I am the "Coyote Ugly" chick of grad school with something to prove and always willing to get a little crazy. When I've had even a couple of drinks, I simply don't think about the fact that people may disapprove. Now, that doesn't make me a completely disrespectful bitch or anything...I'm just saying, I feel a little bit better about who I am without the pressures of properness weighing so heavily upon me.

So go, my readers, have a drink...your day will be just a little bit brighter...or at least mine will be...

Posted by: Princess Cat at 08:20 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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