Happy Birthday to You

Every Sunday I look forward to perusing the Sunday paper. My favorite section of late has been celebrity birthdays. Here are a few that will be celebrating this week:

March 28

Vince Vaughn (40)

He's great at portraying "every guy" which is probably why I loved Dodgeball!

Julia Stiles (29)

Ok, I loved her in The Prince and Me. Not the most thought provoking movie but I enjoyed the fairy tale aspect of it. I am rather fond of this hairstyle.


March 30

John Aston (80)

Eighty years old, can it possibly be? I best remember him as Gomez, of course, who would drive Morticia crazy everytime he spoke French.

Robbie Coltrane (60)

He is best known as Hagrid from the Harry Potter films but I liked him in Nuns on the Run and British TV shows. The title of the movie alone makes me giggle, me, a Catholic school girl.

Paul Reiser (53)
How long has Mad About You been off the air? Too long! I also loved him in Aliens. I think that was the best movie of the franchise.

MC Hammer (47)

Hammertime! Ok, here is an interesting tidbit, my cousin was one of his dancers. He met her in a dance club in Honolulu was impressed and asked her to be a part of his show. How could she refuse?

Eric Clapton (65 )
I remember when Eric Clapton was a part of Cream. I bet you don't recognize him in this video!

Tracy Chapman (46)

Tracy Chapman has many songs that I admire but my favorite is Fast Car.

March 31

Ewan McGregor (39)

He was in Trainspotting and played a young Obi Won Kenobi but my all time favorite role he did was as Norman Warne in Miss Potter. His latest movie Ghost Writer seems intriguing.

April 2

Linda Hunt (65)

Oooh, a great actress in The Year of Living Dangerously. Now I enjoy her in NCIS: Los Angeles with LL Cool J (yummy!) but I also liked her in Kindergarten Cop!

April 3

Doris Day (87)
I am a fan of Doris Day because she is a champion for animal rights but I also love her for all the wonderful films and TV work she has done. I loved all the screwball comedies with James Garner, Rock Hudson, and others. Remember With Six You Get Eggroll? One of my faves!

Billy Joe Royal (68)
See if you can remember this far back when Billy Joe Royal was on Shindig singing Down in the Boondocks!

Amanda Bynes (24)

Oh to be 24 and know what I know today, what would I tell myself? I just happened to catch What a Girl Wants today on TV for the millionth time. It's one of my favorite cute movies and I'm sure it has nothing to do with Mr. Darcy, I mean Colin Firth!

If it's your birthday this week I wish you a happy one!

My Cherie Amour

When I'm in the car, I listen to 105.7 The Walrus. They play great oldies and recently they played a song that is an all time favorite of mine, My Cherie Amour. I love Stevie Wonder, I think he is an awesome creative genius.

The song was originally recorded in 1966, but not released (it was subsequently remixed for release in 1969). Co-written by Wonder and the songwriters-producers Henry Cosby and Sylvia Moy, the song was an autobiographical account by Wonder about a woman he was fascinated with while in school at the Michigan School for the Blind. Here is that song told in pictures and verse.

My Cherie Amour

My cherie amour, lovely as a summer day

My cherie amour, distant as the milky way

My cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore

You're the only girl my heart beats for

How I wish that you were mine

In a cafe

or sometimes on a crowded street

I've been near you, but you never noticed me

My cherie amour, won't you tell me how could you ignore

That behind that little smile I wore

How I wish that you were mine

La la la la la la, La la la la la la

La la la la la la, La la la la la la

Maybe someday, you'll see my face among the crowd

Maybe someday, I'll share your little distant cloud

Oh, cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore

You're the only girl my heart beats for

How I wish that you were mine

La la la la la la, La la la la la la

La la la la la la, La la la la la la

Boy this song really does take me back. Ok, now turn off the volume on my playlist and click on this YouTube video of Stevie Wonder from 2008 singing my Cherie Amour in a London concert. You'll see that I'm not the only one who loves this song!

Have a happy Sunday!

The time thief and other things

The time thief struck again! I will be doing this all day…the clock says 11am but it’s really 10…it’s 7:15pm but it’s really 6:15. I seem to do this every year!

The good news is that there is not a cloud in the sky. It is truly a glorious day full of blue sky and sunshine. It is truly a day for the outdoors and not to be spent cleaning the house. You could be...

...taking your four-legged friend to splash in the surf at Dog Beach

Visit The Star of India now a maritime museum

Spend the day with friends and family at the San Diego Zoo

or at the San Diego Wild Animal Park

or rustle up some grub at Little Italy's farmers market

or we could go to the Hillcrest farmers market

Spend some time at the Botanical Building at Balboa Park

viewing the beauty within

or simply fly a kite at Mission Bay




It all adds up to the perfect SoCal day!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Yet another rainy weekend in supposedly sunny California. It's 11:30 in the morning but you'd never know it as it is rather dismal and dark not to mention the rain is starting to fall again. Remember this video from the Eurythmics?

Here Comes the Rain Again

This is definitely one of my favorite songs by the group and one of my absolute all time favorite video from the 80's.

I flipped on the TV this morning thinking I'd pop in a video but after searching the channels I came across this oldie but goodie...The Karate Kid. You know I had never seen this movie! I loved it! What heart Daniel had and what a fabulous mentor in Mr. Miyagi. I was reminded of a fun Halloween party back in the 80's when someone showed up at a party in a shower curtain just like Daniel. I thought it was a brilliant costume and I was chided with...Haven't you seen The Karate Kid? Well, no, but I can say I have now!

The Karate Kid

There is a new version of the Karate Kid coming out June 11, 2010. Two things why didn't they call if The Kung Fu Kid? I hope people don't get the two martial art forms confused. And second, Jaden Smith sure looks like dear old dad.

Let's stay in and watch movies today!

I'll supply the snacks and you bring your favorite DVD.

Have a great Sunday!

P.S. It's still raining!

It was a dark and stormy night. No this is not the start of a new novel, it was the weather last night in San Diego. It arrived a little earlier than the weatherman predicted.

I love a rainy night

The furry ones and I cozied up in bed and I opened the window just a teensy bit so I could hear the rain fall. It's so relaxing. We watched Brit Night (Keeping Up Appearances, As Time Goes By, etc.) on our local PBS station. These shows are as old as the hills and I've seen them over and over but I still find them fun and am a big fan. Patricia Routledge who portrayed Hyacinth is 81 this year.

Keeping Up Appearances

I loved the look of this bed which is sort of dressed like my own. It looks cozy and warm, ZZZZZZZ!

Have you noticed my latest blog, The Literary Gato? It features Kitty as The Literary Gato and here he is helping me select books to review.

I previously wrote book reviews for theExaminer.com which you can still find but I have decided to forego theExaminer and start a new book blog. Here's a link to my latest book review of The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews.

Also featured on The Literary Gato are photos of Kitty's friends and fellow book lovers. Here are two of them...

Baby Kitty from Confessions of a Plate Addict

and Kramer from The Victorian Parlor

If you think your literary gato would like to join the photo gallery let me know! I'd love to feature your furry companion.

Hope you all had a fun Sunday and are looking forward to a new week!

And the winner is....

Isn't she beautiful! Congratulations to Sadie the Scottie for winning the 2010 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.



Sadie showed charm and grace and a winning form to take Best in Show. In true diva style, Sadie, along with her entourage, made the rounds to the morning talk shows after only 2-3 hours of sleep. She yawned on Good Morning America and elicited oohs and ahhs from Whoopi Goldberg on The View who declared Sadie "gorgeous!"



Still, I have to say that Sadie, the part boxer/terrier cross I share my life with, won my heart years ago and is my Top Dog! Sadie entered my life when I found her in 2000 at a nearby animal shelter. She was adopted on the day her last puppy found a home. The reason Sadie and her pups were there you wonder...the owner said they had too many animals. When I found Sadie she did not even have a name. Their loss, my terrific gain. I couldn't ask for a better companion than my sweet Sadie.


I sometimes wonder what Sadie's life was like before we found each other. She was a little skittish when she arrived home. Any loud noise or sudden movement would unnerve her. She would also not jump up on the couch or bed. I'm guessing she wasn't allowed to do that in her previous home but for me it's all part of the fun of having an animal in the family.


Pure bred dogs and cats are wonderful, our family has had many from Boxers and Lhasa Apso's to award winning (blue ribbon, baby!) Siamese cats. We've also had our share of loveable mutts and the ocassional stray cat that found it's way to our house.

I ask that the next time you think of adding a four-legged companion to your family that you consider your local animal shelter. There are many loving hearts there who are begging to share their love and companionship with you. And when adopting, please remember this dog, cat, bunny or guinea pig is a "forever" member of your family.

You can help support shelter animals with food by following this link The Animal Rescue Site or by using the button located on the sidebar.

Have a fabulous Sunday and Sadie, Kitty and I send our love.

PeAce out!