Give a girl a Sharpie and she's dangerous

Thank you for the snazzy Aveda bag with five bottles and a container. I'm all packed for travelling now!

SHAM -- Herbal Essences Intensive Blends Protecting Shampoo (softer hair in one use! They only sell this in the Wal-Mart in Mechanicville, I'm convinced of it. Apparently, they don't make it anymore so I should stock up.)

COND -- Herbal Essences Intensive Blends Protecting Conditioner (softer hair in ... yeah, you get the idea)

BODY -- St. Ives Collagen Elastin Moisturizing Body Wash

FACE -- Clean & Clear Daily Facial Cleanser (with smooth round micro-scrubbers) I ran out of the regular so filled the rest with the Morning Burst variety.

HAIR -- Textureline volumizing gel by L'oreal

SPOO -- Lubriderm Advanced Moisture Therapy body lotion (for extry-dry skin)

And the cat came back ...

Miss Kitty has been gone since last Tuesday and I've been a wreck worrying over her. She's wandered off before for extended periods of time, but she hasn't done this in a very long time. I think all the visitors we had over on the 1st made her mad. This being the Halloween season, I get more angsty than usual about her being outside as a black cat. I also found that describing a black cat to someone who doesn't own one is hard to do. Any distinctive markings? Um, she's all black. She has a luxuriously long tail. There are some scabs on her skin around her neck under her fur. Her fur is more coarse than shiny. She's particularly petite. She meows a lot (I actually wrote that on a piece of paper and gave that to my neighbor). To the casual cat observer, she's just another black cat.

Rich has been very helpful in the cat search. He's been taking walks in the neighborhood and helping me look for her every evening. He even went out with me in the rain with flashlights and slicker jackets for almost an hour for us to look for her one more time. About halfway through the walk, I was losing hope. I just wanted her to come home and she wasn't coming. I was calling kittykittykittykitty all over the neighborhood and shining flashlights in all their shrubbery and under their cars but she was still playing hard to get.

And on the last leg of our trip, as I stood in the middle of the street and let out one last kittykittykittykitty she meowed back in reply. In a flash of soggy black fur, she came tearing across three yards and down the street to jump into my arms. And she was all full of purrs and snuggles and kneading my shoulder.

As recently as two hours ago, I was vowing that if she ever came home she was never going outside again. But given her surly behavior, we'll see how that goes. She's definitely staying inside until after Halloween. So we have three weeks of howling and growling and general kitty cantankerousness.

Miss Kitty gets a stern talking to (1.43MB MP3 - safe for work aside from cat growling)

Apple Pancakes

Another Laura creation (with egg substitutes as necessary). These pancakes are more crepe-like, rather than cake-like. So you can eat a very large pancake and be full, but not feel like you just ate the stuffing from your throw pillows the rest of the morning. Granny Smith apples are the best for these tasty cakes. Yields about twelve 4-inch pancakes or 4 servings

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 2 tbs sugar 2 tsp baking poweder 3/4 tsp salt 1 1/3 cups milk 1 egg, slightly beaten 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1 fist-sized Granny Smith apple, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces vegetable oil

In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, egg, and 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, and stir just until flour is moistened. Add cinnamon and apples.

Heat griddle or skillet over medium heat until drop of water sizzles; brush lightly with vegetable oil. Pour batter by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto griddle, making a few pancakes at a time; cook until tops are bubbley and bubbles burst; edges will look dry. With pancake turner, turn and cook until undersides are golden; place on warm platte ; keep warm.

Keep an eye on the griddle and brush on more oil as needed.

350 calories per serving