I’m sad today. I lost my kitty Phoenix. He was only 4 years old. He died of kidney failure. He is the second cat I’ve had that suffered from the illness. Phoenix is a Siamese and my other cat, Mr. Jones, was part Siamese. It makes me wonder.

Siamese cats are famous for their unique personality. Phoenix acted more like a dog sometimes than a cat. He was always at the door to greet me when I came home. He was pretty vocal too. He always let you know when he was in the room or wanted something. What I’m going to miss most though is when he would crawl up in bed with me. I will miss his persistent attitude to be pet, not matter if I were still sleeping or not.

Phoenix I love you and will miss you dearly.

I’m calling out to all women who are interested in fashion for an upcoming story in flaire for women. I’m looking for photos of fashion dos and don’ts. Send me a photo of yourself or of someone else and let me know what you think about the outfit.

Clothing style is something that not everyone will agree on, but there are common elements that people feel do make a good outfit – size, color and of style (think LBD.) .

Remember if you send pictures please be kind. What I’m looking for is if something you may think is or isn’t wearing something that is age appropriate or fits properly. Personal style plays into our fashion choices and just because you don’t like something doesn’t mean they don’t look good in it.

I don’t like tennis shoes with an outfit, unless its for fitness, but it doesn’t send me running away from people who wear them.

Send me your photos at cynthia_ellis @thetelegraph.com.

I’m bad…really bad. Why? Well I haven’t been keeping up with my blogging. In all actuality it seems like an easy task, but it’s not so simple when you have so many other things to do.

I think blogging is similar to writing in a journal, although not as personal. When I was young I used to write in a journal daily. I kept my most personal feelings inside and then when I was a senior in high school a boyfriend read it. I felt so violated. He then had the audacity to get mad at me for the things he read. Needless to say that was the end of us.

Later when I was in the military and kept a journal the same thing happened. Someone read what I wrote and I didn’t feel like writing anymore. I kept a diary so that one day I would be able to look back on my life and reminisce time to time. It also allowed me to remember the people who were in my life at the time.

In this age of technology there are fewer people who write in journals. They have turned to blogging online. However, blogging doesn’t tell people what you really feel. A journal is meant for you and it reflects your true feeling. Some of the best writing comes from personal experience – travel, work and personal problems – and you wouldn’t want everyone to see how you really feel about your boss, co-worker or husband now would you?

I also think of journals and diaries as part of history, without them we wouldn’t have the knowledge about the past and the people who wrote them. There is nothing like reading a first person experience to get the true tale.

There has been many famous individuals to document what is happening to them throughout history as well as what was happening in their country. Numerous diaries have been published that have hit a historical status and have remained as best sellers on literary lists throughout the world. Here are just a few to get you started:

Anne Frank, The Diary of Young Girl
Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Journals of Sylvia Plath
Nuremberg Diary
The Diary of Virgina Woolf
A Woman Doctor’s Civil War: Esther Hill Hawks’ Diary (Women’s Diaries and Letters of the Nineteenth-Century South)

Most of the presidents kept diaries throughout their life and their term as president. We know this as we have several diaries from presidents including George Washington, John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson. However, one unique diary belonged to President Harry S. Truman – Hiroshima:The Harry Truman Diary and Papers.

Truman would write notes and comments throughout the day. These may not have been official diary entries, but they are very poignant and show us how the president felt.

These unique accounts of historical diaries are yet another reason to keep a diary or journal. Although you may not be famous your journal may be an insight to your life later on . It most definitely would be an account that your family would enjoy long after you’re gone.

So tell me do you write in a journal or do you have a favorite one that you’ve read?