My beautiful senior cat, Mr. Jazz – the inspiration for the book, Purr Prints of the Heart, and Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day. This was him in early 2013 – each day I was given with him at this point was a precious gift.

I’m in the process of going through pictures of our cats with Dan to determine which one’s I’d like to use for my upcoming book. We have thousands of images – each one more beautiful than the next – but it’s a bittersweet process because it always inevitably happens when we look at pictures – a random one will pop up and hit me painfully in the gut, reminding me of days gone by. This time it was a picture of Jazz. But what’s most interesting, was that it was a picture of him I hadn’t seen before. Considering I combed through what I thought were all of his pictures when I wrote his meow memoir, Purr Prints of the Heart, last year, it was all the more perplexing. Read more

Jazz was always in the hallway of the living room, looking at me before he’d jump up onto the couch to snuggle with me.

It’s almost too hard to comprehend, but my beloved Jazz has been gone nearly three years. He’s never left my heart, but recently I’ve felt him all around me in a very strong sense. I don’t know if it’s because his Rainbow Bridge anniversary is August 28th and that’s been in the back of my mind, or if it’s because lately I feel as if Jazmine is “sharing” him with me via herself. Read more

Gratitude. That’s the only way I can adequately describe what I felt during my days at the BlogPaws/Cat Writers’ Association conference held at the gorgeous and tranquil Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass Spa and Resort in Phoenix last weekend. It was an odd dichotomy—both calming and spiritually nurturing, based on the Native American roots of the hotel—and typically hectic as a result of the whirlwind of events jammed into a 3-day time frame. Being an ambassador for BlogPaws also elevated the interactive notch to extremes my normally introverted self wouldn’t pursue. I’m the kind of cat that has to hide under the bed a bit before she warms up to company, but that’s okay. Pushing the personal envelope isn’t always a bad thing. Read more

Cats, computers, books, blogging, writing… yup… that about sums me up!

It’s almost impossible for me to believe, but I’ve been blogging for almost 6 years now. It started as an afterthought – I was writing my first book – The Chronicles of Zee & Zoey – A Journey of the Extraordinarily Ordinary and it was brought to my attention at a writing conference that I needed a blog. So I started a blog. I got business cards. I set up an LLC. All without having the foresight to realize that even though I knew Zee and Zoey were two of my cats that inspired me to change my life, unless you knew me personally, or bought the book, the rest of the world probably didn’t. Read more

Cats, hats, books, reading, and Dr. Seuss – it truly doesn’t get much better and that’s why today is one of my favorite days! Click image to enlarge.

When it comes to me and my life, a cat on my lap will more than suffice.

A cat on my lap with a good book to read, I can tell you honestly that’s all I really need.

A cat on my lap for me to pet, I really would be absolutely set!

Perhaps a cup of espresso too, if you wouldn’t mind, thank you.

And while you’re at it, if it’s not too much trouble, could you rush it and make it a double?

That’s all for now, my leg is asleep, the cat won’t move and I don’t dare make a peep… Read more