Okay. It's Monday. Time for a new challenge...?!

Yeah, I know, it's Monday morning, and nobody wants to have to *think* about anything. But not me - I awoke at 5:40am and felt suddenly renewed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for a shiny new leaf to flip over (and hopefully there won't be a scary, big-ass bug clinging underneath it). Maybe it's 'cuz the rain has passed and the sun is out (eeek! says the ghostly pale, freckled Vampire Goth Girl that still resides within me), but I think it's because I'm feeling good and focused about a bunch of things in my life. Or perhaps I've finally gone completely stir crazy after such a long and cold winter...

First up on the agenda. I like Kirstie Alley. I mean, I really, really like her. Always have. I can totally relate to her and feel she's a kindred spirit. I think she's a hoot, a real pistol. I love her kooky and sarcastic personality, her love of animals, her eccentrically-decorated 'Alice in Wonderland' home (in Los Feliz - my old neighborhood back in California!!!), and mostly of late, her unabashed candor at her current state of being: admitting that, yes, people, she got fat - again. You know, in case anyone hadn't noticed.

But instead of crying and whining and hiding away like most of us who have put on a few pounds, Alley has bravely turned the spotlight on her big bad self, humorously poking fun at her entire day to day existence on her new A&E channel show ("Kirstie Alley's Big Life"). Mark and I have watched each episode since it aired in March, and have been laughing hysterically at her daily happenings, which includes running an entire coterie of occasionally inept staffers who help to guide her hectic home life, raising her much-loved and very beautiful children (who, like me, are adopted... Kirstie, please consider adopting me! I beg you, please!), scooping her pet lemur's poop, and dealing with the awful marauding tabloid paparazzi outside the gates of her mansion. How does she manage - and not lose her mind altogether?  Girl, I applaud your honesty and pluck! Not sure if I'd have the huevos to do such a thing in my own private life.

Kirstie's motto: Life. Lick it! (photo: AETV)

http://www.aetv.com/kirstie-alleys-big-life/about/

However, what I find most interesting is Alley's formation of her new weight loss company, Organic Liaison. Organic? Weight loss? Hey, I wanna be a part of it!

Okay. I know what y'all are thinking - that I'm jumping on a bandwagon here. 'T'ain't so. Generally I'm the last one to do such things, but hear me out. I've always purchased and consumed organic foods and products, and after doing research on her line, am seriously considering joining it. It's the first all-organic weight loss support system, and it appears nutritionally-sound, like it could truly help people lose weight in a healthy and supportive way (including me, as I would like to lose 20 pounds of pudge). I went to her website and even signed up. Have not purchased the monthly product yet, but I'll keep you informed.

Next up deals with my ongoing love affair ... with gardening and landscaping. I'm still new to this, only  having lived in this house on all this acreage for a scant two years, but I am learning more and implementing things better. Last year I grew some of the most amazing, luscious organic herbs and heirloom tomatoes I've ever tasted (the fat, meaty Cherokee Purple variety you may recall from last summer's blog) and this year, Poopy is helping me to have an actual growing field that we've already mapped out. A slew of organic veggies will be harvested by summer's end, I tell you! It is my goal!

And because this blog (which was initially and solely art-inspired) has turned into a "My Life and Welcome To It" hodge-podge of interests and subjects - mostly the aforementioned gardening projects - I've decided to create yet another new blog. This one will be 100% devoted exclusively to all of the gardening/landscaping/organic vegetable growing that my existence has morphed into. And yes, it took me quite a great stretch of the imagination to conjure up a proper name for it: The Quirky Gardener.  Yeah, I know, isn't it brilliant?

You better be laughing right now, cuz it is funny! So from here on, that's where you need to go to when you have an absolute driving desire to see what in the world that Ellen is currently digging. And planting. And growing. Click on the link to take you directly to it, and yes, it's still a brand-new work in progress, so there's not a whole heckuva lot there just yet, but give it time.

And: We have an addition to our family: Lily, the black cat. She's a beauty, with glossy black fur and green-golden eyes, about a year old, and adopted from a lady here in the Nashville area who rescues kitties. 

She's a bit of a shy 'fraidy cat right now, hiding in our spare downstairs bedroom, but in a day or so, she's sure to be roaming here among us humans and her 'sister,' Yeti. More photos to come!


Lastly. The sometimes-neglected "Poopy's Words of Wisdom" column has been updated, thanks to a fresh quote from the Poopmeister himself (love you, honey! Mua!). He touches ever-so-briefly on a recent event here at our home... the fire we had in the kitchen. It's in the process of being fixed and made all nice and pretty again. If you want to know all the gory details, leave a comment here and I'll make sure Poopy answers it in a timely fashion.


Okee dokee, kids. Time to get movin' and shakin' here! Back soon...