Fill-Ins and Full Moons

Welcome to the (almost) weekend! We'll start off this lovely Friday like we always do, and that's with the fun Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by our good pals over at 15andmeowing and McGuffy's Reader.

We always enjoy the fill-ins their brilliant minds come up with, and this week is no different. See here?

1. The first thing I check when I go online is _________.
2. My signature dish is _________.
3. My Halloween night is usually _________.
4. Trick or treaters _________.

I never know if I do these fill-ins justice, but I do my best. Here's what I came up with this week:

1. The first thing I check when I go online is my email.
(I have a couple different email accounts, such as one for blogging, one for work, etc. The first one I always check, though, is this very blog's email account. We love keeping up with all of our furiends and their humans, and so that is always our first stop online. We know our priorities!)

2. My signature dish is chocolate pudding.
(I much prefer making desserts and baked goods over planning and cooking meals. It's not that I don't enjoy cooking, because I do, especially when it involves anything Italian, or cheese. But, for me, nothing beats making a sweet and rich and tasty dessert. That being said, some time ago my parents found an old Hershey's recipe book when going through my grandpa's house. Just one of the many mouth-watering recipes inside is for homemade chocolate pudding, and that has since become one of my absolute favorite desserts to make for family. I even made chocolate pudding pie last night!)

3. My Halloween night is usually followed by a sugar hangover.
(I have a terrible sweet tooth. Although my self-control is already heavily lacking when it comes to candy, I especially always let myself go extra hog wild on Halloween night. I mean, honestly, what's so wrong about filling your plate with Milky Ways and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Laffy Taffys, with a few Milk Duds and Dots for dessert? That being said, the first day of November is usually a pretty sluggish one for me, in which I more or less have to literally drag myself out of bed and work my way through a raging candy hangover. #Adulting, anyone?)

4. Trick-or-treaters should always say "thank you".
(I understand that, in the excitement of filling their treat buckets with all sorts of candy goodness, kids may forget the simple courtesy of saying "thank you". But, when I was growing up, my parents would never let me walk away from a house without thanking the candy dispenser. Now, as an adult, I really do appreciate when a child says "thank you" after taking their pick of the candy I have to offer. Those two words are so underrated, and so when a child says "thank you" to me on Halloween night, even if it takes a reminder from their parents, they just might earn themselves an extra piece of candy.)

Now, are you ready for some Eddy? Here she is, with a little side of Evan.

Eddy adores her big brother Evan. She loves to interrupt him when he's napping. Eddy thinks it's just the best thing in the world to wake big brother up, kick him a few times, maybe get a slap or two in, and then run off like greased lightning before he can defend himself.

Sometimes, though, if Evan's lucky, Eddy will just be in the mood to chillax and play a little footsie.

Given that Eddy loves being active at night (when else is a girl supposed to play with her raucous jingly toys?), it seemed fitting enough that today's prompt for JNW's Halloween Challenge would be full moon. Since Eddy not only loves to run around and do her thing in the moonlit hours, but also loves to watch the nighttime wildlife out the back window, she asked me to create this:

There you go, Eddy. Just don't stay up too late, young lady.

Happy Friday!

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Our Tip of the Day:

Remember that cats are nocturnal by nature. While living with non-nocturnal humans may turn some cats towards a similar schedule, others tend to fall back on the nighttime activities their instincts tell them is normal. If you have a heavily nocturnal cat, and as long as medical conditions have been ruled out as a possible cause of nighttime shenanigans, there are ways of trying to curb your kitty from keeping you up at night. We've mentioned some of these methods in past tips, and they include feeding your feline before bed. Many cats will sleep best after a hardy meal, while others simply rest better knowing that their bowl is not empty. Either way, try to reserve a portion of their daily food for the evening hours. Also be sure that your kitty has interactive toys to keep him or her occupied. What's more, try leaving these toys all day. If your kitty can use up some energy on these toys during the day, then they may very well sleep better at night. Or, some cats simply prefer to play with such toys at night, in which case you can place the toys in a location that allows kitty to play and you to sleep. And, if your kitty seems especially playful or restful at night in the autumn and winter, perhaps they are feeling cold. Cats might pace to find a warm place to sleep, or might play or seek out food to help them feel warm. In this case, please be sure that your kitty, who is a warm weather animal by nature, has somewhere warm to sleep in the cold months.