Their Bottoms Are Made Out Of Springs

We did indeed have our annual Thanksgiving outing to The Happiest Place On Earth. There was no repeat of The Great Pumpkin Pie Incident of 2006 as there wasn't a single slice to be found in all of Disneyland. I tracked down some pumpkin muffins, but that's just not the same.

I did treat myself to this lovely, tooth-rotting confection:

Tigger Tail

Marshmallows, caramel, orange candy coating, chocolate stripes. On a stick. YUM! I ate about three-quarters of this and suddenly felt like Tigger! I got such a sugar rush that my head was spinning and I just wanted to bounce around. Hoo Hoo Hoo HOO!!!

Now for the embarrassing part. I got to the front of the sweets line and very proudly ordered my "Tiger Tail." This is what followed:

"Excuse me," said the cast member working the counter, "don't you mean TIGGER Tail?"

Me: "Oops! I'm sorry! Yes! TIGGER Tail! Am I going to get kicked out of Disneyland?"

C.M.: "Well, no, but I don't think Tigger would be very happy to hear you say that."

Me: "I think you're right. I'm sorry."

So ridicurous!

I was just totally clueless...

Recently, I think went on a foodie outing and I didn't even know it! Anyone who knows me understands that while I (obviously) like to eat, I don't cook and I'm no gourmet. On the rare occasion I do "fine dining," I have to look up menu ingredients on my cell phone under the table!

Hello Kitty recently came to town to celebrate her 35th birthday. For three weeks, the Royal/T café/store/gallery hosted an amazing event that included displays of past and present merchandise, works by over 80 contemporary artists, special menus, and various affairs to showcase different aspects of that kawaii little cartoon cat-with-no-mouth that many of us have loved for years.

Hello Kitty items from Japan

I was so excited for this! I love Hello Kitty and a couple of my favorite artists contributed to the exhibition. I really looked forward to checking out the array of memorabilia and the modern artistic interpretations and tributes. Jenn had been a few times, but suggested a brunch there with friends. Great! In addition to checking the place out, what a great opportunity to hang out with some friends I hadn't seen in a while and meet some new ones.

Painting by Luke Chueh

It didn't sink in when after the meal I was ready to peruse the exhibits and everyone else was kind of ho-hum and went along for a bit before scurrying off to do other things. I knew several of them had been before, so figured they didn't need to see it again. I can be pretty daft so it didn't strike me until I read this post and then this one and then finally this one. Duh.

Hello Kitty pancake and fruit

We were gathered primarily for the food, which included a special high tea and other themed offerings (see photo above). Everyone enjoyed the adorable eats.I did have a wonderful time and hope my friends will still include this food challenged dork in future gatherings!

Cosette, I Love You Very Much!

Cosette, our American Eskimo Dog, was born 17 years ago today. It was also a Friday the 13th. She came to live with us on January 3, 1993. I was so reluctant to get a dog at the time, but E was really missing the two out of three he grew up with who were still living with his mom. For the holidays, I gave him a "Certicate" I printed up on the computer and presented to him, complete with the misspelling. We still joke about that to this day. It was good for (1) American Eskimo Puppy. Within a week and change, an 8-week old ball of fluff joined our family.

Cosette is responsible for my love of dogs being rekindled after it had been soured in high school. As is common with her breed, she has always highly intelligent and trainable, agile, and protective. She's definitely a "daddy's girl," positioning herself to be the alpha female of the household. We'll just let her keep thinking that, okay? And it might sort of be true.

We moved across the country with Cosette when she was not quite two years old. She reluctantly let Little Guy join the clan several years later (once she put him in his place) and became a mom to Rusty when we adopted him later. Cosette has survived mammary cancer nearly five years ago and came through a bought of Old Dog Vestibular Disease a year and a half ago.

There's no denying that Cosette is OLD. Among other things, she's deaf, has arthritis, sleeps a lot, is very skinny under her fur coat, and is not quite as sharp as she once was. If you go by the old standard 1 dog year=7 human years, she'd be the equivalent of 119 years old! However, veterinary research has shown that the correlation can be related to the size of the dog. Going by the standards I've found, she is more like a 92-97 year old human. Okay, so that's still pretty geriatric!

I have no idea how much longer she'll live, but I'm not going to dwell on that. I appreciate every day we have with her and let her know that the best I can. Tonight, she and her brothers will have cake and ice cream and if they tolerate it, wear party hats to celebrate a long, beautiful life!