the other day, one of my friends sent me a link to this site, so being a new site tart, i decided to sign up and check it out. it’s fair to say that i fell in love with it when it said my closes match was scarlett johnsson (if only!)

i loved this site even more when they didn’t match me to any men!!! after i had mentioned the site to my friend, we uploaded her photo to see who she was compared to – only to find out that she looks like Eddie Murphy, even though she’s white and really petite. maybe it’s not so reliable after all…?

i don’t know why i did it – i left myself open for people to decide whether my gorgeous cat is as good looking as i think he is! why did i do it? i decided the other day that it would be a good idea to post my cat hugo to kittenwar.com as i was convinced that as i think he’s handsome, everyone else would too. for those of you who haven’t been to the site before, you basically upload a picture of your cat and it is then drawn at random against other cats from their database for people to vote which cat is the cutest.

to date, hugo has lost 11 battles, won 10 and drawn 1 – the poor thing. i have to keep turning the screen away from him whenever he walks past because i’m really concerned that he’ll get a complex : ) it’s for that reason that i’m unashamedly pleading for your vote! his profile can be seen here. so please, if you visit the site and he gets drawn, give the little guy a break – he’s got enough to cope with, he is ginger after all!

whilst some people might read shakespeare, others stephen king or even bill bryson – i settle for “etiquette for girls”. i’m not sure why, maybe it’s my eagerness to please but i love to know how things should be done and for this reason i love books like this.

it was when i was engrossed in the book a couple of days ago that i came across the chapter “on a yacht” which of course is an every day occurance! therefore in the hope that we all find ourselves in that situation sooner rather than later, here’s a few hints:-

• don’t sit on pristine suede seats when in wet bikinis
• heels and black soled shoes should never be worn on deck
• deck shoes should never be worn on land
• learn the lingo – a loo on a boat is called a head
• check water supplies before washing your hair, keep showers brief
• deckhands and cooks are there for your pleasure but don’t treat them like servants
• don’t snigger at the captain’s docking skills – it can be difficult for the most proficient sailor
• ensure everything is left shipshape
• tip the crew via the captain, as a reflection of how long you stayed and their gallantry
• dispatch a glowing thank you letter to the host

boating indispensibles…

• sun cover up
• swimwear (more than one set)
• sporty waterproof jacket
• warm top in case of chilly winds
• large trophy sunglasses
• clean bottomed trainers / deck shoes

so there you go, you’re all ready to set sail – and if you end up ignoring the advice and being thrown overboard, you can’t say you were warned of boating manners! x

so it’s the time of year when we’ve probably all made the resolutions that we will stick to for the whole of 48 hours before being religated to the other many resolutions that we’ve previously made, broken and would prefer to forget all about.

it would be easy for me to list the usual suspects, such as losing weight, taking more exercise, drinking less etc – but i know the reality of the situation. i like hobnobs so losing weight is probably out of the question, i work hard and have little spare time, so taking more exercise (bad though it sounds) probably isn’t top of my priority list and as for drinking less, well that’s all very well until you hit a party! i tend to find in the party situation that resolutions don’t spring to mind, where as “yes please” does!

so this year, i’ve decided to make my resolutions about things that i would like to achieve rather than change my ways (i’m an old dog now, so it’s too late to teach me new tricks!)… here’s my hit list….

• *make a more conscious effort to see more of my friends
• *see a live band at least once a month
• *clean bird poo from my car within 1 day of noticing it to prevent having to pay for the car to be re-sprayed
• *take professional dance lessons
• *try and live each day happier than the last

so here’s to a happy and healthy 2007 – may it bring much happiness, new friends and fun times along the way…