For this image of Mia, I applied a black and white paint sketch filter to it. I then brought the image into Photoshop and layered it with the original color photo to design my own creative masterpiece by touching it up with spots of color!

While it’s only a couple weeks into January, life has already hit me full speed. My day job has been especially tiring – from doing physical inventory counts to special projects that require an enormous amount of mental application. I’ve also had to take a road trip the past two consecutive weekends (averaging between  6 to 8 hours in the car each time) and as a consequence my brain is pretty fried right now. When I get both mentally and physically drained, sometimes the writer in me disappears and I find I need to channel my creative side as an outlet to help center my mind. Read more

Mia and Rolz show us how cat zen works!

We’re just a little over a week into the New Year and I’m already exhausted! Lots going on mentally and emotionally, so rather than let it overwhelm me, I’m going to step back and follow the example of my feline gang who are wise masters in the art of zen. This picture is just what I need to bring some peace into my day and I hope it does the same for you! Have a lovely Sunday and if you missed last week’s post where I shared my outlook and perspective for 2017 I hope you’ll take a minute to stop by. There’s some great pictures with inspirational quotes to help frame the year.

It’s that time of year when the Christmas decorations come out of storage. Mia seems to think I took them out just for her enjoyment…

Sure, life is stressful and far from perfect, but it’s that wonderful time of the year when I try to take a break from it all and focus on what’s truly important to me…my family. My book is done, blogging will be at a minimum, and most of my time will be spent doing what I love – getting the house ready for family and friends who will be coming by for the holidays!!

In a house like mine, I’m never without a cat or two wanting to help out!! Thanks Kizmet – nice job knocking the decorations over!

I’ve been checking my list to see who’s naughty and nice. I’ve decided to forego the naughty and focus on the nice…especially when it comes to my cats…as what might appear to be naughty to some, is actually them trying to be nice by “helping” out!!

Happy Sunday all – and on a more serious note, our heart goes out to those that have lost a beloved companion in the past few days. R.I.P. to dear Fiona of The Cat on My Head and sweet Sammy of One Spoiled Cat.

Please join the Sunday Selfie Blog Hop!

A quintessential moment in time captured – this is me.

We’ve all seen questions like this, whether in social media, magazines, interviews, etc. where you’re asked what three words best describe who you are. I’ve seen numerous variations of the question and despite the simplicity of it; it’s actually a difficult question. As human beings, we have so many different facets of our life that determine who were are, and often they can change like the direction of the wind. I’m typically coined creative, compassionate, and determined, but that’s only scratching the surface. The same with a photograph – a photograph captures an image in time, but depending on who is looking at the picture; it will conjure up different connotations. And then there are the moments where the sun and the moon perfectly align and purity is revealed. That’s what happened to me when Dan took a random picture of me. I looked at it and realized in an instant that it captured the essence of me. Read more

Editor’s Note: I realize this post is a heavy subject and probably not one you were expecting, but with the holidays heading our way, I felt the timing was appropriate. Holidays are a time that can cause a lot of stress and anxiety for us – especially for those of us that might be remembering a passed cat who we dearly miss, or those of us that are going through personal issues with a cat who is currently ill, or possibly even nearing end-of-life. In the blogging world, we often think of everything in adult terms, often forgetting that there are others around us who are also stressed and anxious. This post is for those who have children in their lives that might need some guidance with the subject of pet loss and grief. The focus of the article is on cats, but the advice applies to any beloved pet, regardless of the species.

Photo credit: DepositPhotos.com

As someone who is involved in the cat world nearly 24/7/365 via blogging, social media, and other outlets, very rarely does a day go by that I do not hear about one cat or another who has passed on. Online sites have become a therapeutic outlet for those who chose to share their grief publicly – I try not to let it get to me, but sometimes it is overwhelming because I take the circumstances to heart, grieving through association. Read more