I hail from the Wild and Wonderful state of West Virginia and make my home in Da ‘Burgh! No, not Martinsburg but Pittsburgh. My journey includes two millennials, a dog, four cats and a water turtle. Do Betas count? The millennials live on one side of the house in what today would be called a mother-in-law suite with the cats, while hubby and I live on the other side with Sheila E., the Australian cattle dog. Meanwhile, the water turtle, Marcie, lives contentedly in the basement far away the chaos.

War and Pets: A Lighthearted Take on Life's 'Invasions'

My blog title, War and Pets is a playful twist on the classic title of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel, War and Peace, which I have made several attempts to complete – and truth be told, didn't quite make it past the Prologue of Book One. It was in the grand ballroom of the Catherine Palace during a high society ball that I hit a literary impasse. Now, don't get me wrong, I can converse in several languages, with French being one of my talents, so the linguistic hurdle was no deterrent, even when some of the book was penned in French. While this historical fiction account of Napoleon's French invasion of Russia in the 1800s remains unconquered, there's another kind of invasion in my life, one of the furry variety – pets! Join me on this hilarious and at times, frustrating adventure as we explore how pets have a knack for infiltrating your world and seizing control.