“Picky” (not sure why my sister named her that, but I assume because the cat is much like other cats — picky/finicky) would like to introduce her kitt-lets to you, but please excuse the kitty bum in the background — tehe.

First we have “Trash Jr” (male) — given the name because his “daddy’s” name is Trash (got in to the trashcan a lot as a kitten).

Then we have my two new babies, Izzy (female) and the unnamed kitten seen in the kitty bum picture above (male).

I love Izzy’s little pink nose.. and I love how the unnamed kitten looks so much like Bella to me — long haired, big face. In case you can’t tell, I’m a cat person. I can’t wait to get these babies home. I hope Jynx is OK with them. I’m hoping that because they’re much younger and she’s had a couple of litters herself, she’ll behave. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

But seriously… who can resist such cute kitties??? Not me!!

I guess I need to sit down and think up a name for fluff-butt kitty. Hmm..

I’m always curious about the health and beauty products other people use. What are products you use, that you must have? I’ll share some of mine..

Hair Products;
I have recently had issues with several different lines of hair care products. Pantene, Organix, Fructis and various Matrix products. All of these products caused my scalp to break out really bad, and actually caused my hair to fall out (hair falling out is normal, but this was more than what would be considered normal). I know other people that have used the products mentioned above and have had nothing but great results, so I’m not sure why I didn’t. At any rate.. I simply adore, and must have Aveeno’s Nourish and Reviltize shampoo and conditioner. Even after just the first time shampooing and conditioning with these products, my hair felt and looked so much healthier. I’ve been using them for about 2 weeks now, and I’m so happy with how soft, manageable and shiny my hair looks. I’m also pleased that my hair doesn’t feel oily after a few hours like many other shampoos and conditioners do.

Skin Care;
A few years ago I discovered the Aveeno line. I can’t quite remember the exact face moisturizer I used by Aveeno, but I’m currently using Positively Radiant. I get a lot of compliments about my skin. I’ve never been one to have break outs (knock on wood) but my skin isn’t without flaw. Since I began using Positively Radiant, my skin has evened out a lot. Plus I’ve been told it “glows.” I really love that it has an SPF of 30 too. I do not do the tan thing, and am actually really, really fair skinned.

Lips;
Quick and simple – I absolutely love this product. I cannot stand for my lips to be dry. It drives me crazy. I recently began using Burt’s Bees lip balm and I’m not looking back. My lips are so soft. I only wish I would have picked up some of their lip balm sooner. I may have to try some of their other products.

Body;
I doubt many, if any of you know that I cannot wear perfume. I get really bad headaches from every perfume I’ve tried in the last decade. It’s actually strange to me, but the headaches only occur when I’m wearing them — someone else could be wearing the same perfume and it wouldn’t really bother me. So, for the last decade I’ve been using a variety of body splashes and mists. I’m a fan of some of the Bath and Body Works scents (especially Sweet Pea), but I was recently introduced to Beauty Rush which can be found at Victoria’s Secret (by the way, I love the body splash in Lovespell). I currently use Juiced Berry and Candy Baby, but also really love Honey Do and Cupquake.

Your turn. What are some of your favorite products?

I have been thinking about getting my food/recipe blog back up and running. I have so many recipes I want to share. This past weekend my mom asked me to cooking a french toast bake for all of us (my mom, my aunt P, Tam and myself). I was originally going to cook the blueberry french toast bake found on $5 Dollar Dinners. They said they’d rather have plain french toast baked in the oven, and while I still intend to try the blueberry french toast bake, I did as my mom asked. I must say, between the french toast, the homemade whipped cream and homemade strawberry topping (chopped strawberries and granulated sugar)… it was heaven!

I’m visiting with Jess today, and baby Frost. She decided to try something different tonight and made a delicious turkey alfredo. It looks similar to sausage gravy in the photo, but trust me, it was way different. I’ll have to get her to write up the recipe so I can share!

I think I will reopen that cooking blog in the near future. I actually enjoyed blogging there and sharing the recipes! For now though, I have two installations to do and need to finish the final touches on another design. Back to work.

I’m taking a short 15-20 minute break from design work at the moment. I haven’t really updated here (other than a couple of the more private entries last month).

Last month we got our first, and only, snow of the year. Prior to then it’d had probably been nearly 10 years since it snowed this far south… and actually stuck. At 31 years old I felt like a child watching it fall and catching snow flakes in my hand. It started really slow, which bummed me out a bit because I was hoping it would snow in south Georgia like it did when I lived in Newfoundland (like that would happen). Anyway, after an hour or so it really started coming down and sticking. Exciting! My nephews really enjoyed it too. They wish for snow every winter, and this year, their wish came true! They built snowmen (and one snow woman that was a little NSFW), had snowball fights (one of which resulted in my being tag teamed by all three of them) and made snow angels. It was nice to see them enjoying something like that, that’s so rare in this area.

This is what it looked like the morning after the snow fell.

Let’s see.. what else.

I decided to change my hair a bit the other day. It’s had quite a bit of static lately, which is pretty annoying at times, but I guess that happens to the best of us this time of year — winter. It’s also starting to grow out (have been missing my long hair since I cut it late last year), finally. I thought about going either black or really dark brown. Instead I went with a golden brown, which is only slightly different and when the light or sun hits it just right, it doesn’t look all that different from the red shade it was before. I’m not sure if I like it just yet, but I’m sure with time I’ll grow used to it and like it more. It’s kind of in an awkward phase.. a little wild and free, doing whatever it wants regardless of how much I try to tame it. Ha, ha.

There’s a bee in my bonnet. I guess it’s because we’re so close to spring now, I’ve gone straight into this mad cleaning mode. My back is a little sore today because of this. All of that bending, pulling, pushing, moving and lifting wasn’t very kind to me! I spent the last two nights with my mom, helping her clean her house. Thursday’s have always been “cleaning day” in the house of Joyce. I got a jump start for her Wednesday night and helped finish up yesterday evening. I don’t know where this sudden surge of energy came from, but man it would be nice to have it every single day of my life. Oh the things I could accomplish in each 24 hour day.

Well I have quite a bit of work to finish up today.. before I can call it a day. I’m going to dive back into it now.

I’m not talking about for an animal, though I do need one of those for the new kitten I’ll be bringing home in a couple of weeks (Nikki’s cat had kittens in January). I’m talking about the ones you give your significant other.

One of my coworkers (we’ll call him M) from a hospital I worked for had one of the most hilarious pet names for his wife, which he used for her in his contact list on his mobile phone. We all got along, goofed around (as much as one can between emergencies) and became good friends. One day G (another male nurse) was going through M’s phone, which they both did to one another quite often (they were always looking for “blackmail” lol). When M reentered the nurses station G looked up from the phone and shouted to M “Who’s Puppy Biscuit?” We all just started laughing, and of course teasing M about the pet name he gave his wife. M said that his wife kept asking him to give her a nickname, so that’s what he gave her.

I’m not sure I’d be too happy with a pet name like M gave his wife, but I do like the idea of pet names. I read an article once, though I can’t remember which magazine it was in, that stated giving pet names to one another can bring a couple closer.

What do you think? Do you use pet names with your significant other?

I like it when he calls me baby.. or angel.