We just got back from CHINA!!!

How to say "hello" in Mandarin Chinese phonetically = "Knee How!"

More to come soon from our vacation.... I'm so exhausted since we got back and all I can do is sleep.

We took over 2,000 pictures. Here's one of me and J for now:

This is the muffin that almost ruined my computer.

It may look innocent. But don't be fooled.



Ahh! It's almost indecent how plump those cranberries are!


I've been wanting to make Cranberry-Orange muffins for a while.  I finally decided that this weekend was it.  I was making them.  I got on the foodnetwork site and found the recipe I wanted to try and got to it.  

Now I usually put my laptop up on the ledge near my kitchen sink and do all my cooking business on the center island.  However, I decided I was going to put my laptop on the island this time.  I thought it would be much easier on me so I wouldn't have to turn around to see the recipe. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I'm going along.  So far, so good.  Things are coming together.  The muffin batter is going in the pan.  Then in the oven.  And things are fine.

Then comes the clean up stage.  Here is where things go wrong.

The milk is one of those small flimsier type milk jugs.  I'm trying to put the top on with one hand (this is probably part of the problem) and it won't go on.  I push harder trying to get the lid on and the whole milk jug falls forward.  All over my laptop.  Milk is gushing out of the container and I scream "Noooo!" and pull it up and away as fast as I can.

I'm freaking out at this point.  I'm scared my computer is ruined. I know I need to tell J and fast because he might know of something I can do to help save it.  But I'm scared to tell J because I know he will not be pleased with me.  I felt like a five year old.  I clean it up the best I can to get all the milk off of it.  

I run upstairs.  "Um, I need to tell you something but promise not to get mad, okay?" 

Well, he was definitely not pleased.  Like I said, I felt like a five year old.  Luckily, I think my cat-like-lightning-fast reflexes helped to keep the milk from doing serious damage to my beloved laptop.  The only thing that is wrong with it at this point is the screen is ruined.  But I can live with that, I think.  It would seem that some liquid got under the screen somehow and made a stain.  It's getting better but I don't think it will ever go away.

This morning, my cat came over for a visit while I was reading the news.  He sniffed around a little bit and then realized what he was smelling was coming from my laptop.  Sour milk.  Lovely.

The muffins were pretty good.  

This is only one small thing about this cat that's strange...

Now, I love this cat. I have to say though, that he's kind of weird. But in a sweet, endearing way. Sometimes kind of annoying.

He likes to headbutt me while I'm sleeping. First at 2 am and then at 4 am while purring in my face really loud, and taking a time out to walk on my nightstand and investigate. It's a pattern. Headbutt, purr, nightstand investigate. Headbutt, purr, nightstand investigate. Sometimes he'll switch it up and walk across my pillow as a shortcut on his way to investigate. Which I can't stand.

He will wait outside of the shower for you to be done. Then if you leave the shower door open, he will go in and sit in there under the shower head and look up at it and wait for some water to drip down on him. One day, I left the shower door open and saw he was in there when I left for work. J got home in the afternoon and found him asleep in there. I really think he sat in the shower all day. Now I've started making sure that the bathroom door is closed so he can't do that anymore. I feel uncomfortable about my cat living out his days in a 2x2 glass enclosed area. There must be more than that for a cat to look forward to.

You know, like shredding the couch, scratching up the rug, unraveling toilet paper from the rolls and eating anything and everything he comes across.