Happy Birthday Midnight

....we think. Being that he was a stray, we don't know his actual date of birth. The end of September was the adoption agencies best guess. So, that makes Mr. Midnight Evans Guido 5 years old. I can't believe we've had him for almost 5 years. In 2004, we adopted him from the Delmarva Cat Connection that had a booth at a craft fair in Ocean City. I held him and didn't want to let him go. Aww. I'm always asking Joe if we can add to our cat family but really, neither of us wants to clean up after more than one furry friend. So, while I'm probably the perfect candidate to become a crazy cat lady, Midnight remains an only child.

I just asked him to pose for a picture for the blog and this is what I got. He is a ham.

And speaking of animals, last weekend Joe and I visited the National Zoo. Saturday was gorgeous - low 70s and sunny, so we just wanted to be outside. I'm thankful it's free because I don't know if I'd pay any amount of money to be trampled by small children the whole time. But regardless, we had a good time.

Are you serious?

So I was catching up on my DVR (yup, still love it!) and enjoying fast forwarding through all of the dreaded commercials when something caught my eye. I actually stopped, rewound, and watched...well, I'll show you....


No, the kitty cat is not preparing to go to the moon, he is apparently using a high tech kitty toilet. Wowsa! I really thought the commercial was a joke but after doing a little googling, it was clear that this is indeed for real and called the Litter Robot. There is an original version an even an expanded version for cats with a little more junk in the trunk. And you too can have it for the low low price of $350!!

Now back in the day we owned one of the original automatic litter boxes but it didn't go so well. The thing scared the bejesus out of Midnight everytime it scooped but worse than that, it wasn't covered and he got litter EVERYWHERE. The poor soul that lives in our old apartment now is probably still finding litter behind things. So the Litter Robot, with it's innovated sphere like design, may indeed solve the flying litter problem - but, $350? This cheap girl can't stomach it.

I hope they some day come out with a $500 litter box that's covered, scoops, cleans and finally takes the waste out to the trashcan. That might be worth the investment!

Soon-to-be parents of a brand new Dyson

Finally the time has come...we've cashed in our credit card points for a Dyson vacuum cleaner! Not just any Dyson either - it's the one with the ball that can "turn on a dime." I never thought I'd be the type to get excited over an appliance, especially one that is used for cleaning, but I'm at the edge of my seat waiting for it to arrive at our front door. All the better, we didn't have to shell $500 out of pocket to have it. I hope Midnight's cat hair is no match for my high powered sucking machine.


And as to not hurt the feelings of our old vacuum cleaner which is still truckin', we will likely keep it around for days when I'm too lazy to carry our new addition up and down our four flights of stairs. We've had our classy purple and red Hoover Fusion for over 2 years now and while we've managed to break pretty much every attachment the thing has, it still does the job. For something that was less than $100, you can't ask for much more.

Credit card points are a wonderful thing. If you have a credit card that earns points, we have some tips for accumulating big numbers:

1. Buy absolutely everything using your credit card. No item is too big or too small. We've charged a pack of gum and as much of a down payment on our new car as the dealership would let us.*
2. Give people that judge you for not carrying cash dirty looks. We don't see the point in using the green stuff unless absolutely necessary. We avoid establishments that don't take credit card (eh hem...gelato cart at the National's game). Get with the times!
3. Join all special programs. Bank of America (our credit card) has paired up with tons of different websites to offer you double, triple, or quadruple your points just by shopping online. All you have to do is follow the links from their website. I earned triple the points for most of the furniture I've bought off Target.com.

*Laura and Joe Plus Zero does not encourage credit card debt. Have the money to pay off your credit card.

Happy Father's Day!

From Midnight (the cat) to his daddy: Thank you for all the hours you've spent scoopin my poop, feeding me, taking me to the vet (and cleaning up the throw up that happens as a result), changing my water, scratching my head, and forgiving me when I bite or scratch you. I love you!


From Laura & Joe: Happy Father's Day to Dad Evans and Dad Guido!