Jenna, a longtime cat lover, took on the task of fostering the two kittens, named Dunder and Mifflin after the fictitious paper company in the sitcom, for two weeks before they were able to head to Kitten Rescue, a non-profit organization (Jenna will be hosting their 2nd Annual Fur Ball at the Skirball, an event benefiting the L.A. group this Saturday).

“Dunder is kind of like a little scoundrel,” Fischer told peoplepets.com. “I have a fireplace and a white couch, and one day I look over, and he’s walked through the soot of the fireplace and was putting perfect little kitten paw prints all across my white couch!”

Both kittens already have adoptions pending!

[image: bauer-griffin]

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Celeb Pets: Jenna Fischer Fosters Kittens

The survey also reveals that owning a DVR can lead to a happier, less stressful life. Eighty-one percent of respondents said their DVR has made life better by allowing for more time to do things together with loved ones and fewer arguments over what to watch. In fact, having a DVR around seems to improve relationships, 79 percent of respondents claimed.

You know what can lead to an even less stressful life?  Turn off both the TV and the DVR and talk.  Communicate without technical distraction. Even better, turn them off, head outside and have a conversation while watching your kids play or the sun set or…… okay, yeah this may sound corny, but give it a try.

And I say this as a TV fan. (I never miss Lost or Survivor).

Image credit: Chase Your Bliss Photography

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DVRs and Quality of Life

I’ve read about Jon and Kate  Gosselin. Especially about Kate, people really love-to-hate her, which I find oddly fascinating. She’s just a mom, trying to do her best, like any other mom. I don’t get the venom, the hate, the Kate-as-the-devil-ness of it all. People go on about how she speaks to Jon, talking down to him, or whatever, but that’s behavior that I’ve seen in many relationships. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes it’s the way married people relate.

Lately, there have been headlines about Jon’s possible affair (denied) or Kate’s possible affair (denied).  I’m not there with Jon and Kate, I can’t see how they live their lives away from the camera, but I don’t think that these people have had affairs. I can’t imagine anyone with that many kids having the energy to have an affair – I know I’m exhausted daily by my four.

There’s also the issue of no privacy. I can see a flirtation that troubles a marriage springing up – these are regular people with cameras pointed at them all the time, their egos can’t help but be inflated by that attention. Marriage and raising kids – these are challenging endeavors. Even famous people are only human.

Kate has taken to PEOPLE magazine to voice her concerns.

“I don’t know that we’re in the same place anymore, that we want the same thing,” she says quietly. “I’ve been struggling with the question of ‘Who is this person?’ for a while. I remember where I was the first time I heard her name. It’s one of those things where you can try to make it go away, but there’s blaring, red flashing lights.”

The name to which Kate refers belongs to 23-year-old Deanna Hummel, whose brother later claimed she’d been having a months-long affair with Jon.

I’m no marriage counselor, but airing private maritial matters out in such a public arena, how can that help? 

 
Reality TV appears to be hell on marriages – only the Osbourne’s marriage appears to have emerged unscathed. Okay, maybe that’s not the only one, but when I think back to the couples and families I’ve watched – families that a show focused on – they are it. And they’ve made it through addiction and cancer, so I’d say the Osbournes are a forever match. I sure hope that Jon and Kate can figure it out, because otherwise, one of them is going to go broke paying child support.

Image credit: All Posters.com

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Jon and Kate’s Marriage

Claire will be showing viewers how to “enhance the natural flavors of carefully-selected, fresh ingredients to illustrate her belief that each ingredient should truly stand out in a recipe,” while still maintaining a no-fuss, tasty meal.

Upcoming episodes include a “cozy Sunday supper” of comfort foods, a steakhouse dinner complete with sides and dessert, and a breakfast of French toast with strawberries.

The show premieres Saturday, April 4, at 9:30am/8:30c.

[image: flickr]

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Food Network Premieres ‘5 Ingredient Fix’

Last night’s Emmy Awards got me all psyched up for a few of my favorite shows. America Ferrera won an Emmy for Ugly Betty – which I love for the Girl Revolution I’m trying to spark over at So Sioux me. Of course, my husband had friends over and I got kicked off the tv in favor of a football game, so I didn’t see the whole thing.

Television gets a bad rap. Too much television is bad for you, all the experts say. Especially for children. Our family has been running 1,000 miles an hour going from one meeting to the next, way over scheduled, and it occured to me that television is really good down time.

The Bible says know thyself, one of the things I know about myself is that I need down time. If I don’t get it, I start over-reacting to things and get all wound up.

Like when Zack fell/got pushed off a 6 foot tree house on Saturday, bouncing on the ground like a baby doll. 

Ainsley get in the car we’re leaving right now!

Clue 1  - my over-reaction to something I would normally shrug off, he was fine and only cried for a minute, tells me that scheduling down time has become necessary.

We skipped two conflicting events Saturday night and stayed home to watch tv instead.  It was a good call.

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Television & Down Time

The problem is that it takes foreverto get the TV fixed if there is a problem. We go with a satellite company and find their tech support to be less than efficient. Neither my husband or myself wants to waste two hours or more slowly and methodically checking every plug and cable. My husband spent several hours with them on Saturday and then I finally broke down and called today. We’d rather go without watching TV than call tech support, what does that say about their customer service?

This time, though, they are just sending me a new receiver because they can’t figure out what is wrong. It will be here in 3-5 days. What’s 3-5 days without a TV? It’s summer rerun season anyway.

Conversely, when we are without a computer, which also happened last weekend, both of our heads were about to explode.

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Blank Screen