We're off! And you're all coming with us! (Y'all don't mind sharing a twin bed, right?) Well okay, technically just the blog is coming with us. And the blog will definitely be getting a twin bed all to itself.

I want to say a HUGE thank you to my travel agent, Nilbo. Not only did he save our marriage, but he also pretty much planned this trip for us. And I'd like to introduce everyone to Anna, my newest blog friend who also happens to be a lover of London. Anna is fabulous and she also makes fabulous purses. Yes, I am pimping her purses. Seriously, go look at them. Pretty!

Bridget, making her intentions clear. "Oh, I AM coming with, bitch."

That's it for now. I'll write when I can...

I just added the following item to my must-do-before-leaving-for-trip To-Do List:

• flip calendar to September

Because equally important to remembering the passports and feeding the cats and picking up the currency at the bank and loading the suitcases into the car is FLIPPING THE CALENDAR TO SEPTEMBER. Because by google, we cannot come home in September to a calendar that still says August. The world? It would end.

a phone call from my dear friend ladybug - hearing her voice and having an actual conversation totally made my day. Love you, girl.

Today's WTF? is so obvious. WTF? is going on with my blog? Or, more specifically, our ISP? The connectivity has been up and down since yesterday evening. But mostly down. STOP IT ALREADY! I need consistency in my life.

Although, as I told LadyBug, perhaps this is a good thing because I have SO MUCH TO DO (we leave tomorrow) that I cannot permit distractions. And this blog? Yeah, it's one big ol' brain-sucking, time-wasting distraction. Somebody think up a tagline for that - I don't have time.

So if you don't see me around much today/tomorrow, please forgive me. I'll be back soon. Promise. (Oh, and don't forget to visit twig, home of WTF? Tuesdays!)

Today's motif is Songwriting for Animals. First of all, I'm just very glad to know that I'm not the only one who sings to my pets. Second, thinking about this has brought on an entire post about how I treat my cats like children.

I am very physical in my affection for the cats. I hug them and squeeze them and call them Georgie. And...I am a cat kisser. There, I said it. I kiss my cats all the time. If this disturbs you, please stop reading because it is only going to get worse.

With the cats, I refer to Rob as "Daddy." As in, "Maylee-Bailey, go give Daddy some love," and "Dammit Simon, stop eating Daddy's cereal!" and "Bridgie-Widgie, when Mommy leaves Daddy, who do you want to live with?.....MOMMY?! Oh, what a good kitty! You LOVE your mommy very much don't you? You love your mommy MUCH more than you love your daddy, yes you do!"

(You have all suddenly concluded that it is a VERY good thing we don't want children, haven't you? I know, I am completely deranged.)

Sometimes I take this mother/child thing a bit too far with the cats. I have been known to cuddle Bridget in my arms and tell her that she came "from Mommy's tummy." (She doesn't know she's adopted.) As you might imagine, this freaks Rob the frick out. As in, he REALLY hates it when I do that. As you might also imagine, I do it fairly often for that very reason.

When we had to put Maylee in a onesie because of her stitches, I thought she was so cute that I wanted to buy onesies for all of the cats so I could put them in their "pajamas" every night. I might have even suggested that after putting them in their pajamas, we could brush their teeth and then tuck them into bed. Like I said, deranged. Rob, however, put his fatherly foot down on that one. I think the idea disturbed him even more than the "Mommy's tummy" thing.

So then, considering the energy I devote to being a bona fide mother to my babies, you would think I would have great songs for them, wouldn't you? However, there is only one song that I sing, to Bridget, and it goes something like this:

"Mommy loves Bridgie and Bridgie loves Mommy.
Mommy loves Bridgie and Bridgie loves Mommy.
Mommy loves Bridgie and Bridgie loves-"

Okay, you get the idea. The lyrics are lame, but it's a catchy little tune. And it's quite versatile. I can mix it up and sing, for example, "Mommy loves Maylee and Maylee loves Mommy" or "Mommy loves Simon and Simon loves Mommy." Or even, "Daddy loves Bridgie and Bridgie loves Daddy." I have never done that last one. (Ooh! I just thought of a new one: "Daddy loves Bridgie and Bridgie loves MOMMY." Definitely going to have to sing that one this evening.)

What I lack in creative songwriting I make up for in theme names, though. Yes, I said theme names. I only do this with Bridget because I love her the most. She has a blocked tear duct in one eye which causes that eye to water pretty much all the time. And so I tell her that if she were in the Mafia, she would be called Ol' Watery Eye. She also carries her tail in the shape of a question mark, and so if she were a Native American kitty, her name would be Crooked Tail. When she was a kitten, her whiskers were crimped (cutest thing EVER). And so, obviously, if she were in a heavy metal band she would be Twisted Whisker.

Yes, I am a CRAZY CAT LADY. And damn proud to be one, thank you very much.