November Won't Come Soon Enough

Other Than Dog

Like many dog owners, FD & I have given Bleu various cutesy nicknames: baby dogbert, Bleu-ser, boo-boo-tron.

In addition to these nicknames, we have others. Ones that represent the various other animals Bleu embodies:

A Bear: He stands on his hind legs and tries to dance with us like a circus bear.

A Lion: Sometimes he has a mane. And his jaw is huge.

A Shark: He surfs a counter like a shark surfs a crowed beach.

A Pig: The way he eats and waddles and rolls around in mug makes us think he was a pig in a previous life.

This is just a sampling. The list could on much longer than my lunch break.

What animals does your dog or cat remind you of?

Happy 1st Birthday, Levon Hubert Bleu McGuire Rzicznek!

Then...

















Now...At one year old...

When The Cow Came Home

While obsessing over food this year, I decided to take my meat-buying by the horns. (Lame pun intended.)

I could bore you with the facts about grass-fed beef and its health benefits and supporting local farms and the slow food movement, but I don't have enough time at the moment. (I'm heading off to Detroit then NYC for another soon-to-be-blogged adventure...)

I do, however, have a moment to welcome home Rudy, our grass-fed quarter of beef from Luginbill Family Farms.

As you can see, Bleu was just as excited as us to have many cuts of beef to choose from.

One of the happiest moments I've had in a long time was picking up our meat from the processor. As geeky as it sounds, I'm beyond ecstatic to know where our cow was raised and slaughtered. I still can't stop smiling at the fact that every cut of meat in our deep freezer bears my name.

How cool is that?

Bleu's Halloween Costume

Can you imagine?

Thanks, KJ, for sending this to me!

Fun in the Sun

New Buffalo, MI. Harbor Country.

I met up with a very close friend from grad school, KLA, recently for a girls' getaway--something we both really needed. (Thanks for a great time KLA! You rock!)

Of all the pics I took this one was my fav. I took it from the balcony of our room at the Harbor Grand. The hotel was exceptionally clean and comfortably spacious, and its central location made getting around town on-foot or bike a cinch. The pool area was goregous too! However, the staff were not-so friendly or informative. I would recommend Harbor Grand if you know the area and/or don't use the concierge service much. If you rely on the concierge, I suggest finding another hotel with better customer service or figuring out your way around BEFORE staying there. The concierge at Harbor Grand were force-ably nice, not reliable, & a little put-out with our questions and requests that were not of of the ordinary and were encouraged by their website.

The area is fantastic, though! AB FAB!

Best memory of our trip: The first night there as a horrible storm where lightning struck one of the marina's piers, creating a human-sized sparkler. Of course we gawked from our patio door with it open & our heads hanging out. Then the tornado siren went off. Instead of huddling down in the lowest level of the hotel (a 1/2 flight of stairs down from us), we braved it in our room, swearing (literally dropping f-bombs) & swearing to dive into the bath tub if we see any twister action. It was AWESOME. I haven't laughed that hard in a really long time!

If you find yourself in New Buffalo or Harbor Country, check out these great restaurants or places of interest:

Redamak's: Great for lunch, especially if you're hungover. Burgers are the specialty. Milkshakes are grainy in that powdered-milk way, so avoid those. They only accept cash. Remember to bring cash. ;)

Timothy's: AWESOME for a swank dinner out while wearing casual attire. It's a seafood place, so know they're not the best at cooking filet mignon. Portions are huge and the food is intoxicatingly delectable. Prices are good. Homemade blueberry martinis are a MUST!

Gordon Beach Inn: Where Timothy's is located. This inn has a woodsy, homey vibe. Definitely a place worth investigating for future stays.

Bentwood Tavern: Rumor has it that one should be asked to sit on the roof of this marina restaurant.

The Stray Dog: No Black Dog Tavern but decent food in a beachy setting. Again large portions.

Vickers Theater: KLA & I talked about going here just b/c it looks purely radical. However, why see a movie when there's so much to catch up on? Therefore, I plan on going there with FDR sometime.

Go to the Beach: Of course!

And explore all the fun that can be had in MI!

In the words of Sufjan Stevens, "Say Yes to M!CH!GAN!"

And said YES to MI we have! KLA & I both loved the area so much we're planning next year's trip with ourselves, husbands, and dogs. I can't wait! Lounging on the beach, swimming in Lake Michigan, and eating at fabulous restaurants like Timothy's with good friends sounds beyond fabulous.

I just wish we were going this week. But, no, a year from now.

This week is dedicated to lesson planning, uploading Blackboard sites, and general readying for the semster, not fun in the sun.

I Just Might Be A Dog: A Tribute to Bleu

As Bleu and I rounded the corner onto our block this morning during our walk, I remembered being called a "dog" by my middle school bullies.

Based on how much I love BooBoo, I'd now take being called a dog a compliment.

~

Last night I bawled my brains out when Sam the Dog in I Am Legend died. As GLM pointed out too, I'd much rather see humans die than dogs. What has happened to me?

To comfort me, FDR paused the movie and said, "It's ok. You now just get 'it.' You're now a dog person."

I'm a big black lab person who also loves a mouth-less white kitty.

Oh, the pangs of being a Gemini...

~

The only other living creature I know who is as food-obsessed as me is my dog.

~

In the past 7 months we've spent enough on Bleu to qualify his furry ass as a smooth-bottomed baby:

environmentally-friendly premium dog bed for the living room (check), dog bed for our bedroom (check), specialty collar (check), back-up designer collar (check), Gentle Leader (check) all-natural, allergy-free food (check), 20 vet visits to get rid of parasites picked up from his birth kennel and to figure out his food allergy (check), throwing out the food that he had allergic reactions to (check), new vet (check), flea, tick, heartworm, & other monthly meds (check), pet shampoo & wipes (check), obedience lessons and puppy playdates (check), dog art & bed time books (check), an XL kennel for when he grew out of his L kennel (check), eco-friendly poop bags (and Mama's favorite dog store!!!) (check), deshedding brush (check), pet vac (check), hunting gear (check), countless supposedly "indestructible" toys that we have thrown away (check), Nylabones: the only indestructible toys (check), self-help dog books and dog owner memoirs (check), brake-fast® dog bowl (check), countless-other things-I-can't-remember-b/c-there's-just-too-many-of-them (check). A good $1000 or more.

Bleu resting his little-big head on my feet while I write this blog post; Bleu licking my tears away during I Am Legend; Bleu wagging his butt when he prances out of his kennel when we come home from errands; Bleu swimming like a little gator; Bleu performing any command perfectly for an ice cube; Bleu play-bowing at the words "walk," "eat," and "hunting"; Bleu carefully watching bunnies hop across the yard; Bleu barking to guard his mama from the mailman; Bleu rolling over so I can scratch his belly even more; Bleu trying to sleep in my lap like when he was a puppy; Bleu flopping down and sighing before taking a nap in the shower; Bleu snoring. Priceless.

~

At nine months I couldn't be more proud of my canine best friend. He's still a crazy pup-pup, but he's starting to mature into a handsome dogus.

Happy 9th month birthday, my little moose!

♪♪ Because The World Is Round ♪♪

With my morning cranberry juice I enjoy catching up my friends' blogs. It's kinda like my private time in the morning. The quiet before doctor appointments, puppy playdates, errands, cleaning, get-togethers, blah, blah, blah, etc.

After an usually up-and-down-day yesterday I'm been feeling frustrated, unsatisfied, bored, & generally pissed off to the point I restrained myself from physically bitch-slapping quite a few people.

I considered writing a rant-post about my yesterday. But after reading this post I realized I needed to focus on the things I love. Thanks, Lemon.

So I selected The Beatles' Abbey Road, pressed the round play button on my iTunes, and began this lovely blog-rant.

1.) My husband is by far the only person who "gets" me on every level. His love leaves me speechless in the best ways possible. I would have lost my mind long ago if not for his level-headedness that always pulls me back to the core of our lives & myself.

2.) As crazy as that moose-puppy Bleu can be, in the mornings when he snuggles under the bed covers and curls up in the crook of my stacked legs, I feel such tenderness for him, even to the point that I love him even when he's butt-tucking through the house after his bath shaking water all over the walls and furniture.

3.) I love the joy the freshly cut flowers I got at our Farmers Market brings me. In fact I love the Farmers Market period. I'm learning to be more creative with food, and it makes me feel happy and healthy to know I'm part of a food community.

4.) One great thing yesterday was that I got to talk to a couple of women who've I respected and adored from a distance for quite some time. Talking with them helped me realize afterward that I need to focus more creating a local community of friends, and that there are like-minded people nearer than I thought.

5.) Each day is a blessing, and thankfully each day starts new. And today I'm not going to obsess about yesterday. I'm going to move forward today. I'm going to create something new, worthwhile, and use all this new day's freshness to my best ability. No point in wasting it on non-love. Today is full of love.

When It's This Hot Outside...

...why not become a "shower pig" and hang out where it's nice and cool?

Cursed

Yes, I'm addicted to a pink whale, my pink pants, and a not-so-pink young adult series of novels about vampires.

Those are things that have been preoccupying me lately. A lot.

Well, those and Alicia's Voice.

And a little black lab puppy who likes to eat the plastic food/water dish in his kennel and poop and puke it out for 3 days straight. Good times.

Seriously, though, Bleu's been awesome lately; I'm really proud of how he's mellowing in his almost-ninth month. Maybe mellowing is too strong of a word, but you get my drift.

Now if only I could stop being addicted to vampire stories and clothes I can't afford. Oh, the joys of consumerism's curse!

One Fish, Two Fish...

We've been swimming Bleu.

He's a natural in the water. When we first get to the pond, he always jumps in to get the feel of the water.

He cracks me up.

And when he swims I think he looks like a little gator, with his nose in the air and his retrieve in his mouth.

Obviously I know Bleu's a dog, but I think of him as a pig-gator-bear-wolf-frog-fish dog.

Speaking of fish, we're fish-sitting Sheba the Beta this summer for our friend and yoga teacher Megan.

Having a fourth member in the McRz family (even though she's just our summer guest) makes our house feel a bit more symmetrical.

Plus, it's relaxing to watch her regally swim around her little bowl. An added bonus: her off-handed comments about how crazy Bleu is are hilarious!

~

Tomorrow is the Findlay Farmer's Market at the Hancock Fairgrounds from 4:30-6:30. Saturday is the BG Farmer's Market at the Woodland Mall 9-1.

I heard there's a Farmer's Market in downtown Perrysburg on Thursday, too, from 4-8.

The weekend holds in store freshly farm foods, sunshine, and lots of reading. In addition to the live entertainment provided by my two little fishies!

The Busier You Are The Better You Sleep

With pulling together the Alicia's Voice Poetry Reading and Yoga Event as well as helping out our families, I totally forgot to pay homage to a little black dog & his 6 month bday!

My bad!

Here's Bleu in his birthday collar from The Black Dog.

I really wanted to get him a super preppy navy collar from Vineyard Vines, one of my new favs, (and I still want it!!! My bday is coming up!!! If you need any ideas: hint, hint!!!) but it only went to 15" & I wanted him to grow into it rather than having to buy him a new collar once he was full grown.

But I keep thinking every dog should have two collars--a fancy one and an every day one; just blame the label whore in me.

Anyways, today we went to the dog park in Bowling Green. It was fun.

I mean the park could use a good mowing and clean up. (Seriously if anyone out there wants to help me clean it up, let me know in the comments section!) However, it was a really neat park in terms of its space and agility equipment.

Of course BooBoo had to run through the tunnel 18 million times. Without treats!

That dog has no fear!

Then he tried new equipment with treats, which he seemed to like really well.

I was really proud of how well behaved he was while exploring and running around like a mad man.

The whole time, though, I was worried about him "getting hurt" or "eating poo" or whatever else moms worry about.

Thankfully, FD told me to relax, that I sounded like a mom on the first day of kindergarten and it wasn't necessary--that Bleu is a dog.

Sometimes I have a hard time remembering he's a dog and not my baby...Weird, I know, but until I have a baby he's my baby...
And he even communicates like a kid. We knew he was ready to go home when he kept laying down after walking a few steps.

My little angel...

He's really growing up and starting to learn how to behave himself...at times that is.




Thinking I need to blog every day now that summer is here. I going to try.

♫ While My Puppy Gently Sleeps...♫

Right now a puppy is sleeping on the couch in my office, and I'm quite content.

We attended our first puppy play-date, and BooBoo is wiped out. Perfect. Now I can get some much needed blogging in.

While I didn't win the 6word Twitter contest, I did win a different Twitter Zappos contest, which yielded a higher reward: a $150 gift card to Zappos.com! Yippeeee! The Twitter contest from @zappos_alfred was "Best advice I've gotten is from my Mom. What's best advice your mom gave u? I'll pick 2 replies for free shoes." Here's the winning advice I got from Hons: " Winners are: @HelloKittyAMR-mom told her marry your best friend and @katgil-mom told her to always think positive. I will direct msg you."

(Being a part of Twitter pays off, dear friends!)

Because I did marry my best friend, I gave him the gift card for a new pair of shoes. Ahhhh! Cute--I know.

I must admit, though, I bought myself a new pair of shoes too...I'm addicted...And I blame my no new clothes and shoes resolution for it. I will NEVER make that resolution evereverever again.

Still feeling run-down lately and pretty emotional. After Lemon Cadet's comment that I should take a pregnancy test, I must let all of you know I'm not preggars. I'm just crazy, which apparently is one pink line. Speaking of Lemon Cadet, Baby Lemon is here, and she's precious! Congrats Lemon Family!

I've been feeling a lot better over the past few days. Finishing my book review for Literary Review Magazine helped and being home again helped a lot too. I'm finding the older I get the less I like traveling. Perhaps I'm becoming a crotchety hermit. Or perhaps I'm just tired of traveling almost every weekend. It's exhausting and expensive. And as much as I love our families sometimes I just want to be home doing nothing but reading, blogging, and walking the dog. It's hard to be so close to our families and so far away in terms of distance, but it's life so I must try to handle traveling better. Somehow.

The highlights of seeing our families this past weekend was that my sister visited us for two nights and one day, which was really nice, and we had really nice Mother's Day celebrations with all of our moms, and I got to see the Cortes' fam pics with them and Flat Stan visiting the free stamp and Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame as well as Flat Stan sitting on a kid potty. Good times! (Suz, send me those pics ASAP!)

Speaking of Flat Stan, I'm willing host him if anyone out there needs a Flat Stan host...I adore him.

Just a two more things real quick before my sleepy head wakes up:

There's a dog park right here in Bowling Green! Does anyone take their dog there? It looks a little deserted...More on the dog park situation soon when it's not raining and I can investigate more.

And this weekend come on out for the Poetry and Yoga Alicia's Voice Event. We'd love to see you!

The Partial Summer To Do List

Schedule Dentist Appointments -- Check.

Clean Lawn Furniture -- Check.

Yoga every morning -- Check.

Twitter & convince everyone to join Twitter -- 1/2 Check.

Why and Later Poetry Reading/ Alicia’s Voice Benefit Yoga Classes Promo -- 1/2 Check.

Two Review review -- 1/2 Check.

Puppy Playdates.

Puppy Classes & Training.

CheeBurger CheeBurger date w/ FD.

Shop for Mother’s Day, Father's Day, and birthday cards.

Why and Later Poetry Reading/ Alicia’s Voice Benefit Yoga Classes.

Revolver din-din with Car, FD, me, and a special guest.

Rilo Kiely w/ Stokey!

CTLT Clicker Training Sessions.

Cedar Point for my bday! Yay!

June 18 Alicia’s Voice Golf Outing – JOIN US!

Harbor Grand meet-up with KA. Yay!

Visit families and friends!

ENG 110 syllabus and lesson plans.

READ (about 150 books / 1 down) & post book reviews.

WRITE (as many essays or poems as possible.)

WATCH TV.

WATCH MOVIES.

Catch Up on Gossip Blogs & FAFA.

Nap.

Do “things” not on any to-do list (i.e. be adventurous and spontaneous!)

Emotional Rollercoaster

I've been experiencing this weird inner-debate regarding blogs.

I think sometimes I'm too honest, too raw, too revealing and I think, "Maybe it's time to just write about tv shows or current events or about poetics."

Then I think, "God, that sounds boring and useless..."

With having a public blog, one MUST realize that assholes read one's life events and make fun of them. But I know these assholes do this probably b/c they don't have the guts or creativity to honestly write about their true human experience.

I'm just telling it like it is...

And yesterday held yet another embarrassing experience I feel compelled to blog about. Because I honestly don't care about said assholes and why should I write about boring useless crap anyone can find anywhere else on the web?!

Yesterday I bawled in front of our dog trainer after class.

It was the first time I felt like one of my students, totally. I felt like one of the students who's fabulous but f'ed one little thing on the Works Cited page or didn't develop one small idea more fully and came to office hours to figure out how to do better but ended up crying for no explainable reason and then who got mad at herself for crying and acting "stupid."

Yep, that was me yesterday.

Yesterday, I first almost lost it at the vet. BooBoo is yet again on meds for his crazy-sensitive tummy. He can't have any motivator food besides his dog food, Nutro and Paul Newman's treats, carrots, and green beans. Knowing we had puppy class that night I sunk; with steak and cheese and BooBoo will do anything with no fear and focus on me totally. It was the first day of obstacle course puppy class. F*#$!

I pulled it together to collect the best-112-class-ever's portfolios and give them tons of hugs.

But on the way home, I teared up, thinking about how badly I'm going to miss that class. I heart them dearly.

But I pulled it together again to chop up carrots and beans for BooBoo, get him in the car, drive him to Holland, and get his excited big butt into the puppy class building. I felt calm and assertive UNTIL he started pulling me everywhere. He needed to say "Hi!" to his fellow classmates and their owners. He needed to say "Hi!" to our trainer's new assistant. He needed to say "Hi!" to the toys. That crazy BooBoo.

But then when it was time to start working, he wouldn't do it. Well, he would when he wanted to. The whole time it was me trying to get him to focus on me, him trying to interrupt the other pups' training to play, me trying to again to get him to focus on me, him focusing for a second then leaping towards the toys. And it was back and forth like that for an hour. He did play REALLY well with the other dogs this time, but I just couldn't take him not responding to me. At home, he's by my side all the time; he's my little buddy. But at school, he's too cool for me.

All this reminded me of the HELL I put my parents through in high school. Oy! [eye roll]

After class, I was overcome by memories of being a teen, BooBoo's crazy behavior, BooBoo being sick again, and whatever else, and I just lost it.

The best is, though, this is what I said to our trainer when I started to sob: "I'm so frustrated! He's not like this at home. At all. Or when we go visit places. I don't get it. Being a teen is so hard nowadays. How do they do it? This week has been so hard. Today is so hard. end of the semester is here and I've been grading like mad. Do you understand source synthesis and MLA? Sometimes I feel like I don't either! I miss my students already. And what if Brooke leaves Idol tonight? Oh, and my allergies."

AND WHAT IF BROOKE LEAVES IDOL TONIGHT? WTF?

If I was our trainer, as a person, I would definitely think I was having a nervous breakdown.

But then again, as a teacher, I saw myself as one stressed-out kid who needs a break. A LONG summer break.

When we got home FD was worried b/c I was 45 minutes late, BooBoo acted as a freakshow host butt-tucking all around the house, and I was a crying mess. Still.

And I cried well through Brooke being safe on Idol. Clear up until I cried myself to sleep.

Really what jackass wants to admit this nutso-ness on the internet? No one in their right mind!

Or maybe, just maybe, someone who isn't afraid to share the true human experience.

In my case, maybe a little of both...

~

An after-thought posted on April 25:

I dearly love the blogs I do read and link to on my posts and props column. Said assholes are random peeps I'm paranoid about...I've pissed off many people in my 30 years...

The Story of the Great Bleu-dini and The Search for a Tasty Milkshake

Yesterday I craved a vanilla milkshake.

But NOT just any milkshake. A CheeBurger CheeBurger milkshake.

This is not a "normal" craving. It's a every-other-year thing or a when-in-Florida thing, so I don't mind indulging in the CRAZY amount of calories and fat content.

I figured FD and I would go to lunch at Kermit's (our fav diner in BG) for burgers, fries, and shakes--a 50's kind of lunch. Yum.

When we got to Kermit's we found out they "don't serve shakes on weekends."

When asked why, our server retorted, a bit snottily, "We're too busy."

WTF?! Milkshakes are moneymakers. Someone really needs to tell Kermit that.

In sadness and a bit of anger, we ate our burgers and fries sans milkshake--a 90's kind of lunch. Ugh.

Needless to say, I spent the rest of the day obsessively considering my milkshake options: McDonald's (can't break no fast food resolution), DQ (didn't want soft serve), Marble Slab (way too expensive unworthily), The Sundae Station (possibly?) or the Ice Cream Machine (maybe?).

All I wanted was a true milkshake with hand dipped ice cream and little crunches of ice, not some watered-down, preservative-ridden, chemically engineered shake. It shouldn't be so hard.

Truth be told, I considered flying to Sanibel, FL (even checked flight costs!) so I could go to CheeBurger CheeBurger. Sans multi-million dollar budget and private jet, I was forced to pick something local.

Well past lunch and still weighing my options, FD and I left the house to grade student essays without worrying about a little black dog named Bleu. We crated BooBoo as always and headed off to the library. FD consumed by his grading ("That essay wasn't so bad...") and me trying to grade but continually talking through my milkshake options ("I could eat a salad for dinner and get a milkshake from DQ...Why can't Myles Baker Street serve gourmet milkshakes?...Why doesn't BG have an old school soda fountain?...Vermilion used have one in their downtown pharmacy; it was so cool...")

FD: "Could you please stop? Just for an hour? I'm really trying to grade."

Somehow I managed to finish five papers during our library visit, which freed up time during the two-minute car ride home to further vacillate my milkshake choices: "DQ and MickeyD's are out...I'm thinking Marble Slab..."

FD: "You want to blow $10 on a milkshake!? Are you nuts? It's not payday!"

Upon opening the door, we saw a black tail wagging beyond the baby gate.

A BLACK TAIL WAGGING BEYOND THE BABY GATE!

A BLACK TAIL THAT SHOULD BE IN ITS KENNEL!

WTF?!

!?!?!?




Somehow Bleu-dini escaped his kennel.

I imagine it looked something like this:
Between Bleu and Kermit's not selling milkshakes on the weekends, I lost my mind.

It didn't return until much later. After I watched the Dog Whisper, after I had my milkshake from The Ice Cream Machine (it was good, but not CheeBurger good), after Bleu pushed open the front screen door and escaped again, after my friend AS came over to play with Bleu and he tried to eat her hair, after an episode of L&O SVU, after I fell asleep and dreamed of Bleu escaping from his kennel again and hopping into bed with us...

~

PS!!!

OMG: There's 2 CheeBurgers in MI! We're so going this summer. Like the first day of summer.

That might mean I have to make milkshakes a twice-a-year thing.

Looks like Bleu-ser and I will be walking an additional mile every day...

In Honor of All the Brain Cells I've Killed Doing Stupid "Things" in My Youth

FD and I are walking Bleu who is picking up sticks & prancing around.

Me: "Do girl dogs have penises?"

FD: [silence]

FD: "Is that your idea of an April Fool's joke?"

Me: "I totally forgot this week was April Fool's..."

The Frustrated With & The Thankful For

I really like to appear happy-to-lucky on my blog. Which is why I haven't posted anything lately.

Then I realized it's stupid to only post "good things," as Martha says. And posting my frustrations helped me see what I am thankful for and to rethink my priorities. That's always a "good thing."

So here's me at one of my more honest internet moments. And believe me the internet could use more of those moments. (That's a whole other blog post about the internet as PR, etc. etc. More soon on that.)

Frustrated with:

1.) Students who obviously don't give a shit about their education. Why waste the money? Drop out of school if it's so f***ing easy or f***ing hard.

2.) Online Teaching. I love it. Don't get me wrong. But what I don't love is all this bullshit about how upcoming online classes (like the ones I created) "overuse" technology. Resistant students, teachers, dept. heads, deans and all those other people scared of new technologies because they don't understand any of them and aren't willing to use any themselves need to stop campaigning against them and get on board by taking an online class or teaching an online class. The future is next year and technology is part of it--online or f2f. Ask any 18 year old. Now go ask a 10 year old. Then a 5 year old. BOOYA!

3.) Kristy Lee Cook. Seriously, how long can her untalented ass hang by a thread? Ramielle is going home tonight. Ugh.

4.) Never having enough time.

5.) Myself. Seriously, I know I need to let go of these frustrations and control what I can by making more time, voting more for David A, David C, & Carlye so Kristy Lee goes home, holding development sessions in my program to show how new technologies work and what they are good for, and accepting the fact that some students don't care and never will so they earn the NP and become someone else's problem.

Thankful for:

1.) My husband

2.) My puppy

3.) My awesome students ( you know who you are!)

4.) My morning free to blog, go to the rec, and read something other than essays.

5.) The two HKs in my life: Hello Kitty and Hell's Kitchen. We know by now about my love for Hello Kitty. The other HK, namely Gordon Ramsey, always makes me feel better. Or least justified in being frustrated.

Props to Fox for the pic.

Then and Now

A Little More Hello Kitty Obessed than Usual

Because I don't already have enough to do and I seemingly lost my mind this semester, I'm writing an 8-10 page Researched Essay with my ENG 112 classes.

And you guessed it: mine's on Hello Kitty. I'm speculating causes of HK's popularity among grown-up women in the USA.

While researching I discovered one possible cause of her popularity: her mouthlessness.

Several of my sources claimed she was popular because her mouthlessness is like a mirror. Fans of HK can project their feelings on to her, and suddenly HK is feeling the same way as them.

I like this theory.

But what seems most accurate to it is that most pet owners do the same thing. I can't tell you how many times my little Bleu is happy, sad, frustrated, excited, yadda, yadda, yadda because I'm projecting my emotions onto him, even though he has a mouth. My little pet is my mirror.

And, for me, HK is my little pet in many ways too...