Otto the Biker Cat, celebrity guest at Le Chat Noir

Susan Sonson holding black cat model (India) also awaiting adoption

Rodit holding Mr. Smith and Charlene holding Dusky Rose Black kitten models awaiting adoption

The kittens you see in these photos are awaiting adoption! Please visit http://www.thecatnetwork.org/ to learn about each of these kittens.

FOR SLIDESHOW of PHOTOS from LE CHAT NOIR
To view the 200 photos from the event including the bikini-clad models, the gorgeous black cats, and all the guests and activities, click on this link

http://cid-07a53ec79dd9ddfc.skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?page=play&resid=7A53EC79DD9DDFC!143

Special thanks to Claudia Rehder, our wonderful photographer who captured the essence of the event on photographs!

To view specialty photos by Tomas Loewy, click here (this one is short and sweet).


ALL PHOTOS  ARE COPYRIGHTED AND ARE NOT TO BE DOWNLOADED FOR GENERAL USE. For permission, please contact me, christine.michaels@yahoo.com

I am very excited to announce, Le Chat Noir, an elegant soiree to be held October 2nd in the Design District . While the theme is the black cat, it's really an event for ALL animal lovers to raise awareness for homeless cats. 

Our guest celebrity is  none other than Christopher R. Coppola and his biker cat, Otto. Like a parrot affixed to a pirate's shoulder, Otto rarely leaves Christopher's side. You may have seen Christopher and Otto on the Animal Planet riding a motorcycle, their favorite mode of transportation. Even Otto has his own biker seat and sports wind goggles! And he has quite a following on Facebook.



The theme is vintage Hollywood, all black and silver. So if you love to dress up in Hollywood glamour, drink  wine, Bacardi mixes and savor hors d'oeuvres by Smith & Wollensky, and mingle with art and animal lovers, this is your event! We'll even have black cats strut down the catwalk in diamond-adorned collars! That won't be the only fashion show. Eva Trubetskaya will unveil her DEVA swimwear line as well.

To learn more about this fabulous event and to order your tickets visit:
http://thecatnetwork.org/get-involved-2/events/
 
I hope to see you at the event! If for some reason you can't attend, consider making a donation to help me in my efforts to stop the cat population in downtown Miami!  Click here  http://www.riverfrontcats.com/
 
Christine Michaels
Chairperson, Le Chat Noir
The Cat Network of South Florida

Wow--what an incredible surprise! I just learned that I was named Volunteer of the Month by the Cat Network! Can you believe the tears are welling? I'm surprised I'm this emotional. Well, it's a true labor of love.  Never have I worked with a group of volunteers of this CALIBER, COMPASSION AND COMMITMENT! They have all inspired me to play a part in ensuring street cats live humanely!

The Cat Network is a small but mighty organization. There are no paid staff, no six-figure salaries for CEO, yet these volunteers give so much of themselves. In one case, a woman sacrificed her vacation time and money to help an elderly person who was dying and couldn't care for her four cats, or spending hundreds, thousands of dollars at a veterinarian to save the leg, eye or other body part of injured cat or kitten...the stories are heart-breaking.

Please CLICK HERE to learn what I do on a daily basis. Won't you consider helping a homeless cat?

"Until someone has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened."

Aaah one of my favorite books, but if you've been following my reviews, you're probably throwing your arms up in the air "Christine you have many favorites!" You're probably right. Another story, more vicissitudes of one woman's life journey. But her obstacles are not the physical ritual of binding a woman's feet as in the Japanese culture in Snowflower and the Secret Fan, or being tortured by the Taliban in Kite Runner and so on and so on. 

The Sexy Potatoe Peel Club read this book several years ago and also had the opportunity to meet Elizabeth Gilbert at the local Books and Books. My copy of the book is autographed!

One Potatoe Peels' first reaction "She whines a lot".

My thoughts: Ok, the author is going through an emotional crisis. Doesn't she have the right to complain? It's her story, her book.

In the U.S., Elizabeth Gilbert faces a mid-mid life crisis at the age of 34. She curtails her path of conventional American life. [gasp!]She has a sterling career, a husband, nice house but comes to a screetching halt at the prospect of having children, getting stuck at home, [well you know the predictable ending].

Following the path of countless American women of job, marriage, family is not for everyone--I'm living example-- 41, single, with pets, independent in every sense, and loving life. I've never been a cookie cutter. I like to think I'm a rare gem.

But getting back to the book. Overall the book club enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love.  Gilbert was refreshingly open, humble, self-deprecating, and shared her silliest thoughts. I admire her courage to change course in life, sell her house and take a personal sabbatical and travel abroad alone in search of spirituality, inner strength, and balance between the two.

Her sassy prose keeps me smiling and chuckling. In Italy, I'm salivating at the pizza gorge. In India, I'm thankful I'm Catholic and mass is only an hour. In Indonesia, I identify with the activism in Gilbert to help a divorced, single mother and daughter who are ostracized from society, buy their first home. Gilbert is generous with her time and talent. While she may have ended her "till death do us part" wedding vows, she came through on a commitment to someone less fortunate. And in the end, I wish I were as lucky for a prince charming to unexpectedly appear. I think mine turned into a cat, named Gabriel or Romeo. These are stray cats that have crossed my pat, rubbed their silky coat against my tanned legs and fallen in love with me. Maybe I've stumbled upon a new method...

Elizabeth Gilbert was equally engaging and delightful in person when she came into town for a "Meet the Author" presentation. "I can write a book, can't I?" thinking to myself.

Our book club predicted it would make for a great movie. But I can't remember if we selected the actors for each role as we normally do.

Now, the movie is released today. I plan to see it tomorrow night. Julia Roberts was not my first choice in casting but I'll hold my opinion until after the movie.

Now below is a picture of the author Elizabeth Gilbert:


My choice for actress to play Elizabeth Gilbert is another Elizabeth--Elizabeth Mitchell from the  hit series LOST. Aside from the apparent physical similarities, I'd love to see Mitchell play a sassy journalist to add to her portfolio of intelligent women--she played a doctor in LOST and a detective in a new series "V" about aliens.

What do you think? Post your comment below!




Order your copy now of Eat, Pray, Love! Click below and order it now for low, low price of $8.80. Under $10!

Finally my long anticipated visit to the newest upscale Cuban restaurant, D. Rodriguez Cuba came true this past weekend. 

With some help of my friends Jennifer and Claudia, we sampled, we devoured, and we delighted in plantain chips, seafood appetizers and meat entree. Oh not to forget the borderline erotic dessert--chocolate cigar.

Click here to read my full review!

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Recently I had the pleasure to meet the author of Table for Two, A Cook Book for Couples--Mr. Warren Caterson. He asked me if I liked to cook. Indeed I do and the more free time in the evening,  the more elaborate my dishes.

Alas my free time in evenings is dwindling and consumed with work or charity work which I take very seriously both the former and latter.

As a single person who loves to eat, I always cook for two, three or more people and therefore count on leftovers. Nowadays, cooking is about saving time than the culinary skill or the artistic blend of ingredients.

Upon slicing open the first pages, I discovered the succinctly informative opening chapters on measurements, cooking terms, and ingredients, there are 'kitchen cook friendly', step-by-step recipes from soups, salads, side dishes, and main entrees. Of special note are the chapters devoted to vegetarian dishes, desserts, and what to do with leftovers!

On the culinary scale, these are quality, gourmet recipes suitable for any couple, empty-nester, or voracious apetiter like me. Best of all the 235 classic and nouveau recipes can be prepared and served in about an hour. 

So explore this cornucopia with a special loved one. Cooking together along with dining together keeps the romance alive!

Years ago,  as a member of the Sexy Potato Peel Book club, I wanted to select a book that would be an unexpected surprise. Instead of turning to the NY Times  best seller list, I visited the local bookstore and eyed the book spines for something different, original, and enlightening where my fellow book mates would say "This was great--more than I expected!"  This World Cup season, whether you're experiencing soccer fever or are a pure novice drawn by this worldly sport, I highly recommend this book!

A book I thumbed upon was titled How Soccer Explains the World. The author, Franklin Foer, was a political journalist in Washington and took a six month sabbatical to embark on an odyssey to the soccer capitals of the world.

He set out to observe soccer as a way to understand the consequences of globalization -- the increasing interdependence of the world's nations -- by studying a sport in which "national borders and national identities had been swept into the dustbin of soccer history." The result is a travelogue full of important insights into both cultural change and persistence.

So does globalization, via soccer, ensure humane order? Liberate a nation from tyranny? Or wreak havoc like an organized cult? The result is a range of the good, the bad and the ugly. From Margaret Thatcher's cry of hooliganism that emerges from soccer fanatics and claimed it the "disgrace of a civilized society"; to the fans of Red Star Belgrade in Serbia who became, as Foer puts it, "Milosevic's shock troops, the most active agents of ethnic cleansing, highly efficient practitioners of genocide."; to the sophisticated FC Barcelona Club that redeems the game "by showing that fans can love a club and a country with passion" without stirring xenophobia and that patriotism and cosmopolitanism are compatible.

Even if you're not politically or socio-economically inclined, the real stories of players, a city, an entire nation are captivating sometimes nail-biting and well worth reading. Foer saved the best for last--the story of the country of Iran that hired a Brazilian coach, and the necktie he constantly wore was considered a European imposition. The women of Iran who risked their lives by penetrating the inner sanctum of the culture, forever a man's world, and secretly dressed as men to attend the soccer games. What happened to these brave women even after Iran captured the World Cup berth in 1997? You'll have to read the book.

From Brazil to Bosnia and from Italy to Iran, How Soccer Explains the World is an eye-opening chronicle of how a beautiful sport and its fanatical followers can illuminate the fault lines of a society, whether poverty, anti-Semitism, or radical Islam.

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I have a dream. A dream to build a cat Disneyland, a sanctuary.  While there are many organizations dedicated to rescuing and caring for dogs, there are fewer ones for cats.  But one man built his field of dreams! You're going to love these videos!

After watching this video, please consider a donation, perhaps more than you normally give. As a caretaker of 17 outdoor cats, it's a tremendous job. It's always a few people that carry the burden when caring for the cats that live in our community-- a result of irresponsible cat owners who don't take the time and the few dollars to spay/neuter their cats. 

There are two videos. Watch them both!


Feeding a colony of cats takes a lot of money and work. I know I do it almost every day in my neighborhood. I feed 17 cats which takes almost an hour. I can only imagine feeding 500!!!

The reward is great as you see the immediate results--animals living humanely, healthy and happy. If you do not have the spare time to help the cats in your neighborhood, please consider donating to the Cat Network or Caboodle Ranch.

For Cat Network send checks to 90 SW 3rd Street, #3905, Miami, FL  33131

Many blessings!

This kitten may grow up wild in the streets near your home, licking its paws from car oil and discharge, suffering from agonizing pain, afraid of humans, or it may be lucky and find a loving home and grow up healthy and playful.










For example, the PetSmart in Midtown, PetSmart across from the Falls, and the new PetSmart in Coral Way are in need of volunteers! The Cat Network operates the adoption centers and we need responsible, animal-loving volunteers to help supervise, show cats to potential adopters and/or clean cages.




Misha is an older cat saved from the clutches of euthanasia after her owner passed away. She now lives in mid-Atlantic and loves the spring weather to explore outside, climb trees and watch the birds and butterflies.

Please know that the Cat Network does NOT have a physical facility to house cats. All cats temporarily live with volunteers or foster families or reside at the adoption center at pet stores. That's why we need more volunteers!

To volunteer in the Kendall area, please call Agnetta at the Cat Network at 786-380-1196 and leave a message. To volunteer at the PetSmart in Midtown Miami, please email Tia or Alan at midtowncats@hotmail.com
Thank you for considering! You can make a difference! And if you work insane hours with little free time to spare, then please don't hesitate to write that check!

Make check payable to CAT NETWORK and mail to:
90 SW 3rd Street
#3905
Miami, FL 33130



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Get your issue now on Amazon for the lowest price of $9.36. Click below!
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

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Just returned yesterday from a four- day trip to Playa del Carmen (near Cancun) Mexico for a wedding. While the town was charming, and the wedding- on -a- beach a first for me, more unforgettable was the actual trip to and from. I felt I spent more time in the airport than in Playa del Carmen. Thankfully I have this blog to unload my frustration and share my nonjoyful experience to save readers from the same travel woes.

If you're planning a trip to Cancun or outlying town, please read this posting for some headache saving tips.


Never fly SPIRIT airlines for international trips.

Never fly via Fort Lauderdale airport for international trips

Avoid Cancun except in dead of summer perhaps.


First, the airline. In checking airfare, we missed the reasonable airfare on American Airlines out of Miami airport. This was a tragedy as then we were forced to fly Spirit Airlines out of Fort Lauderdale. While Spirit was $200 less per person, this does not include fees for advance seat assignments and does not include any food/snacks, not even water! Then the seats are more narrow than those at American Airlines. This is another negative but thankfully the flight to Cancun is maxium 2 hours flying westbound and 1.5 hours eastbound. To make your trip even more uncomfortable, the seats recline a couple of millimeters. Regardless of the flight time, most passengers were tired from waking up at 4am to catch their original flight. Or if you're like me, I only slept four hours the night prior in preparation, thinking I could sleep a little on the plane. The concept of Spirit airlines is definitely not for me. How I miss American Airlines!

The airports. Both the Cancun airport and Fort Lauderdale airport are not equipped with the staff to receive thousands of passengers at the same time. Beginning at the Fort Lauderdale airport, I was warned to get there at least 2-3 hours before flight promptly. Thank goodness I followed this sage advice. The security line at Fort Lauderdale airport was slower than a tortoise pace, that Christmas was going to arrive sooner! While there were physically 6-7 processing lines, only three were open.

Cancun airport. If there was a competition as to which airport is slower in terms of checking in passengers, security screening and processing at Immigration/Customs, it would be a close race between Cancun and Ft. Lauderdale. Upon arriving to Cancun airport, it took us little over two hours to pass through Immigration/Customs--LONGER THAN OUR FLIGHT! Several flights arrived at the same time. Is this peak season? Again only three lines at customs when eight lanes existed. I suppose Speedy Gonzalez is not the national motto or local hero mascot.

Thankfully we didn't have to wait long for our shuttle to the hotel. But Playa del Carmen is a solid 45 minutes away.

I woke up at 5:30am and arrived in Playa del Carmen 3pm Central time or 4pm EST. Almost the entire day gone.


THE RETURN TRIP

Waking up at 7am, we had breakfast and boarded our bus to the airport at 9am and arrived promptly at 10am. Since we did not pay for advance seat assignments on SPIRIT AIRLINES we could not sit together.

The flight was an hour late in departing due to a part replacement so the second engine would function properly. Thankfully it only took 20 minutes as the Captain mentioned. However we landed same time as a flight from Bogota, Colombia into Fort Lauderdale. The two jetways converged into the same exit tunnel towards Immigration. It was bottleneck traffic and another mindless hour waiting. Neither my mother nor I are humorous entertainers and our rollercoaster landing (forgot to mention the plane descended from cumulus bumpy clouds, then ascended abruptly, then dropped like an elephant in midair, and ascended again abruptly soaring into the sky and we circled the airport for a second attempt at landing-- some mixed signal from control tower about landing) filled me with nauseau. Green around the gills, I regretted not asking for assistance when deplaning.

In retelling my experience to coworker, she shared her positive flight experience returning from Dominican Republic into Ft. Lauderdale as a breeze. Could it be April is peak season to fly to international destinations? My last trip to Cancun was in the middle of summer (July) in 2001, NINE years ago. Of course I flew out of Miami airport (this was pre Sept 11, 2001) and Cancun airport was nowhere near as crowded. Maybe Cancun is the tropical destination of the year? Or maybe Mexicans were getting back at Americans for the Taco Bell chihuahua dog? (Actually studies showed most Mexicans were enamored with the dog).

My advice--fly out of Miami airport to Cancun. Miami airport is better equipped for mass exodus travelers. Skip Cancun at peak season unless you can spend a week or more. Otherwise you spend more time traveling than enjoying your trip.

To sample a flavor of Fabulous Miami, you can request inclusion in their email announcements by emailing fabiola@fabulousmiami.com . Be sure to tell her, you read this posting by Christine Michaels! Or follow Fabulous Miami on Facebook at "Fabulous Miami LLC". (Fabiola is the brainchild of the club and the QUEEN of social networking. She literally knows everyone!).

Be sure to check out their website at http://www.fabulousmiami.com/.

See you at the next Fabulous Event!

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He's as fast as the Indy Champion race car driver--Helio Castroneves--zooming from room to room. Can he ballroom dance like Helio? Well in time I'm sure he will!

Helio watching “Dancing with the Stars”—maybe he’s following in the footsteps of his namesake who was the dance Champion on the show!

He's as curious as George--poking, peaking into everything--closets, cabinets, and be sure to lower the toilet bowl lid! Ladies he could be your secret weapon to train men to lower the lid. AND he has a special skill--he can open a closed door by pulling on a lever handle!



He's a climber and swinger like Tarzan of the jungle and loves other animals—including DOGS! This older kitten will steal your heart with his animated gestures and mischevious face! Oh and he's still a lover and will curl up on your bed and outstretch his paw to caress your face!
Helio (pronounced El-ee-oo) is 10 months old, healthy, neutered, litter-trained and received all vaccinations and blood tests!!




It would be ideal if he were adopted by parent(s) with another cat, kitten or dog so he has a playmate as he has lots of energy! He's great with dogs and plays with my Maltese!

Please contact me if you are interested in meeting Helio George de Tarzan (you can change the name) Christine 305-218-9952.

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As of March 4: Adopt Both Brother & Sister for Price of One!

Gretel no longer damsel in distress-she's growing up to be quite a lady!

Gretel is the sweetest kitten I have ever cared for. She meows, almost demanding attention and affection just like a dog. She curls up in your lap when seated and faithfully sleeps by your side when it's bedtime. I will cry many tears when giving her up but once the foster parents send me pictures of her new happy home, I will be equally happy!

Penelope Cruz

Fergie

Moral of the movie (between the lessons to learn and all the sumptous women, this movie really is for men):

Don't procrastinate

Don't lie repeatedly

Don't have affairs! Sorry Tiger Woods beat the film to punchline.






My recommendation, RENT THE MOVIE!

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