Dear Blog, I'm sorry I've neglected you in recent months. You should know that this isn't intentional on my part, but more of lack of motivation paired with not being chained to a desk 40 hours a week. I promise that I will work out a schedule that will suit both of our needs while entertaining The Lurkdom. Please know I've enjoyed our time together and that you've taught me a lot in the last few years. Since we've renewed our partnership with vigor, I will not abandon you now. Of course, revisions have also pushed you to the backburner and I'm sorry for that. In the spirit of total disclosure, you should know that you are here to enhance my writing career, not become it. Much love, Alicia PS: While I'm slaving over revisions, you can be mesmerized by The White One's sweater.

Making himself comfy at VESCONE. It's been officially a month since kitty drama has began and I'm happy to say that it's now over. Without getting into the realm of TMI, The White One couldn't keep food down. After several rounds with the vet and the nice people at VESCONE , everyone was confused. He acted fine, just couldn't keep food down.  They confirmed that cats don't have eating disorders and it was determined that he needed surgery to find out what was wrong*. Now would be the time to mention that I thought myself to be the type of person who would never opt for surgery on a cat. Turns out that was me being delusional because there was no doubt in my mind that we were having the cat operated on. The White One, of course, had other plans. Trying to hide from surgery**. So they operated on him and found nothing in his GI tract. They biopsied him and thankfully that came back fine as well. The verdict was he swallowed something too big and by...

I realized that I haven't talked about the cats recently. If they knew this I'm sure there would be more mayhem at Chez Gregoire*. The reason for lack of cat stories I guess is because the focus at The Pie is slowly becoming more writing and writing life oriented. But Alicia, I love hearing about your less-than-normal felines. Aw, thanks. I love talking about my furry children too. Because you asked and I do love them, I figured it's time to do a representation of how an idea becomes a story a la The White One. I should point out that this isn't an in-depth representation as there are only so many photos that work and so much brainpower to use. You get a kernel of an idea. It's just a teeny thing, but it definitely catches your attention. This usually happens when you're involved in something else so you have to look around what's in front of you to examine this HIGHLY INTERESTING THING OUTSIDE THE WINDOW. This new idea is something GROUNDBREAK...

The White One is problematic. He's an asshat of a cat , but also very lovey. With a touch of emo-ness . That said, living with him is sometimes a challenge*. Last week was no exception because apparently he may have a case of The Clap . But even when he does things like crack Android phone screens and snap video cards, he then balances them with something hysterically funny like the time he got his head stuck in a Kleenex box. This is because he's the epitome of catness.The video below is one of these times. If there's a cat stereotype, he fits it. I present you with Lucky Versus The Wreath Box. Have a great Friday. Here's hoping next week isn't as crazy as this one! * I should've known this the first weekend with him when he destroyed a cat toy in 5 minutes. ________ Last.fm hit of the day : Love Sounds by Abigail's Ghost

You can have the red stuff. Save me the container. The White One has been up to his usual antics as of late. It started on the 4th when he walked out our front door, snuck around the corner, and yodeled at Hubby. (The Stripey One got sidelined by grass.) Since then, he's been unstoppable. In the last seven days, he's Picked his way through the bathroom trash searching for that divine piece of plastic. Broke a bottle of Strongbow Hard Cider. Forced himself on Stripey at least ten fifty times. Sat in the middle of my manuscript twice per editing session. Shoved change onto the floor in the middle of the night until I woke up to let me know that his water dish was below Luckycat standards. Snapped a piece off my brand new purple and pink water bottle. Ate said divine plastic only to regurgitate for us a few hours later. Confused my left hand with an early morning snack. Don't get me wrong, not all he does is bad. He is really a sweet cat. And hella entertain...

Editing is still happening and I'm in the final push towards the end. This means nothing to my late-in-life development of self-diagnosed ADD. Nor does this mean anything to all the shiny television I'm overdue to watch. This also means shit to my furry children who clamor for attention the instant there is a pen in hand. Fortunate for me, Stripey just likes to cute it up and stare. It's like a furry reminder to buckle down. The White One, as always, is a different story. He likes to march stalk across the table, bed, or whatever surface is currently acting as my desk and give a vicious headbutt. Then he likes to stretch out across my papers. With his butt directly on my workspace. For an example of this behavior, see left. For an additional roadblock, he likes to steal the pen out of my hand. (Yes, I still longhand.) No matter how focused I am though, The White One loves to stop my process. Click the play button below to see him wrestle with my notebook containing...

Today is errand day. I'm at Grub Street's Muse and the Marketplace writer's conference all weekend and I have things to do that are normally weekend things. So, no post. Besides, the weather in Boston is gorgeous, which means I should be outside anyway. The White One however isn't allowed outside. He'll chill out someplace non-cat approved. (See below.) ______ Last.fm hit of the day : On Your Marks, Get Set, Rock by Crazy Lixx

Too busy catching up on editing today, so enjoy the triple judging eye of The White One behind the door. Photo made with Aviary software . ______ Last.fm hit of the day : Storm in a Teacup by Red Hot Chili Peppers

I'm chipping away at the growing "to do" list on my desk, so watch a cat grooming video. I was surprised that it didn't end in a fight, but with The Stripey One getting more comfortable. (Grooming = cat fight.) ______ Last.fm hit of the day : Outta Control by Alien Sex Fiend

Confession: After years of needing to lock the old school lock that secures my parents' front door, I can't leave my apartment with a sound mind unless I have my hand wrapped around my apartment keys. Sometimes, I even need to gaze upon them to leave the apartment perimeter. This is my constant indulgent OCD moment. Wikipedia goes into a lot of detail about ritual including religion and law. (Yes, I was surprised about law too.) Ritual is funny because so much of our day-to-day consists of it, but we don't even realize it. Every morning, I have a pecking order to start my day: Hit the snooze button 3 times. Let The White One into his favorite room ever - the bathroom. Put kibble in cat bowl. Get ready (dressed, washed, brushed). Throw lunch in bag. The White One even has a morning routine: Yodel. Grumble. Make sure favorite room ever hasn't changed since previous evening. Narf on kibble. Chase tail. Superstitious folks are OCD* to the nines. Have you...

Today's post was going to be about my office reindeer, but sadly there is no time. However, it's truly winter here in Boston with very cold temperatures from the Canadas on the way. What's the best way to warm up? Tea? Hot Chocolate? Sweaters? True, those all help in the warming department, but the most important thing is to wear proper outwear. I'll have Lucky the Cat illustrate. Tomorrow is Zombie Thursday. I'm hoping that Miranda will be showcasing some zombie decorations in the spirit of Christmas. Stay warm!

This is Lucky. We call him Bud. You'll see reference to him on Twitter as The White One. This is one of my most favorite pictures of him taken with my crappy little camera phone. Cute, isn't he? It wouldn't be so far a stretch to say "adorable." (Provided you like cats. I acknowledge that there are anti-cat people out there, but you need your head examined.) Anyway. Lucky is a cat best not to be left to his own devices because he does things like break shelving units, get his head stuck in tissue boxes, or set fire to his tail. Lucky is a cat who's catnip of choice is attention. Negative attention to be exact. We don't like it, but after two and half years with the mammoth beast, we're used to it. Hubby is more patient with the shenanigans than me. Want to know why? Lucky loves Hubby. Hubby loves Lucky. Lucky loves Hubby so much that he gets despondent whenever Hubby has to go out of town. There's a certain process to the despondenc...

I previously stated how my cats are the best form of distraction ever. I still hold to that, but would like to add a disclaimer: DISTRACTIONS ARE BAD WHEN THEY HIT BEFORE DAYLIGHT. In case you've never seen the cats, look here: Cute, huh? They are the devil incarnate. Cheyenne (the stripey one) is viciously clever and somewhat of a trouble maker. She has a tendency to open doors and tear open bags of treats. Lucky (the white one) is rather dumb and quite possibly can be considered the Tommy Lee of the feline world. He also likes to destroy things - vases get smashed, video cards cracked, keyboard keys pulled off... you get the idea. He's also some kind of Oriental cat so he talks. Frequently. We've gotten used to these kitty quirks. They're cats, this is what they do. It's summer, so they like the windows to be open. We have a small one that stays open in our bedroom during the summer that overlooks our driveway and the side street. Since they're indoor cats, th...