Merry (belated) Christmas!

The girls and I had such a good time during Christmas this year! This is going to be one whirlwind post to catch all of you up on everything.

First, we participated in the blogger card exchange, plus a bunch of coonhound and dog lover friends of mine exchanged cards. This meant I hung my cards WITH the girls’. Otherwise, my pile would have been quite pitiful indeed. I like having all my cards up on display. I may not take them down until Valentine’s Day. They just make me happy.

cards

Second, Daisy and Bella both exchanged gifts with other dog friends out there with blogs! Thank you both for being patient! I know you have wanted to see pictures of the girls enjoying their presents.

Daisy was very excited to open presents this year. She tore through paper and chewed up boxes. She received a box from LadyBug over at BichonPawz. It had some of her favorite things ever! Squeakies!!! They are in the shape of corn, bread, and potatoes, LOL! She also has a couple chew bones to munch on for snack time. I tried to get a picture of her posing all cute with her gifts. She would have NONE of it!! She was so excited and just wanted to play. It has been a couple weeks now and she is STILL running around with the corn in her mouth! I’m not sure what it is about that particular one….but she loves it. Now, if I could just get her to understand that when I’m on the phone is NOT when you should pick them up to start playing!

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Thank you so much LadyBug! Daisy is still enjoying her toys.

Next was Bella’s turn! In typical Bella fashion she was totally unsure of what was going on. She would come in, sniff, then run back to her hallway (her safe place at Grannie and Grandpa’s) to watch what we would do next. Luckily her reluctance to play in the wrapping and tissue paper and tear open boxes has no affect on how much she loves her gifts from Millie over at Bird Brains and Dog Tales. Bella loves her Blankie (as do I, Millie’s mom has major talent)!! It was funny….after we made her pose for these kinda corny pictures we put the blanket down in the hall where she likes to sleep…she walked right over and plopped down, curled up and was out like a light! She knew exactly what it was, and what it was for and has used it since coming back home. Mostly her sisters leave it alone. Mostly. Right now as I type Rizzie is using it to sleep. It’s good Bella doesn’t mind sharing occasionally. She also got a beautiful bandana that says ‘Rescue’. *I* love that. She’ll be wearing it when I have to take her anywhere! Since the camera tends to make her anxious, there aren’t as many pictures of her. Also, she says the treats that were in her box were great….they are loooong gone! 😀

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Finally, in typical toddler-like fashion, some kids like playing with the boxes more than the presents!! Oh, Daisy!

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Waiting for Santa

We are all eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival! What did your pups ask for from the guy in the red suit?

Rizzie asked for a forever home of her own where she can snuggle up with her people on the couch every night. Daisy wants treats and a pet squirrel (not sure I believe she wants a ‘pet’- LOL), and Bella wants the UPS truck to stop making deliveries so often at our house!

Daisy’s Delightful Day

Daisy had a great day hanging out with me this afternoon!  We started off by heading out to Tractor Supply. The closest one to us is about 30 minutes away. I had seen something called rubber horse stall mats. I thought it might be nice to have in the back of the SUV. Even though I have *tried* to cover everything I was thinking a solid surface would be good for cleanup and such. Well, when I saw it in person I did like it, but it was too heavy and would be near impossible for me to cut to size. So, instead, Daisy helped me pick out a new toy that she thought Riley might not destroy in 32 seconds. He seems to not love rope toys…so we bought one! Not loving=lasting longer. Daisy also thoroughly inspected the rest of the pet section, some of the horse supplies, and much of the gardening section. She was highly disappointed that this store didn’t have dog treats for her at the check out desk.

 

Next, we stopped at Lowes. It was her first trip there ever! Did you know many Lowes have chosen to be dog friendly? Before we could even get in the store some lady had pulled up in her car to talk to us. It still amazes me how many people don’t know about coonhounds! Daisy walked around generally looking a bit bored with the whole thing while I shopped. I might have taken a while carefully reading over the qualities of different grass seed. My yard has such differences in sun vs shade that one seed isn’t enough for winter preparation. Since many people don’t know Lowes is dog friendly, the other customers were pretty surprised to see a big dog walking around.

The final joy for Daisy was a treat she almost never ever gets…human food! I bought and let her have about half of a Wendy’s Frosty. I had stopped in a park down the road from me to share it with her and the squirrels were going nuts so we also had some spontaneous squirrel hunting time. She came home very happy and tired from her afternoon out with me!

Happy Blogiversary!

That’s right-today is my one year mark of blogging. Honestly, I am a little surprised with myself. I tend to get excited about a project, work really hard, then give up or get distracted by a new fun project. I think blogging has one big difference than most DIY though.  The readers. Over the last year seeing my readership numbers continue to grow, seeing everyone clicking on my pictures and movies, and knowing that there are people out there who like reading about my dogs has kept me going. So, thanks for sticking with us! I hope y’all enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy reading yours.

I will say the original goal of this blog has not been met. I started writing about the girls in an effort to stop talking about them so much in my everyday life. Instead, I found even more people who love to talk about and listen about dogs.  I’ve learned I’m not the only dog crazy person out there. I’m not the only one who loves collars and taking their dogs to any activity possible and whose cars are filled with dried dog slobber.

So, inspired by my love of Lord of the Rings, I’m going to take a page from our friends the dear Hobbits, and give gifts to others for my Blogiversary. That’s correct, my very FIRST giveaway! I told you that you’d want to read today!! Everyone loves free stuff!

So, I sat down earlier this week and asked the girls what they wanted to send someone. They asked whether one of our small dog friends or big dog friends would be getting the gift. *enter stumped Lady in Waiting*  So…there are TWO giveaways!  One with a toy for a small dog, one with a toy for a large dog.

So, I asked the girls what they wanted to include in the gift.  Daisy wanted to give one of her favorite toys. It’s a Kong brand tug toy. It has everything! The ropes are connected inside the toy and act as the stuffing and there is a squeaker. Bella wanted to send hot dogs. I tried explaining that hot dogs wouldn’t last in the mail. To which, she huffed and said that she still wanted to send hot dogs. I found these great dried sausages and explained they are sort of like hot dogs and she was satisfied. My choice for a gift is Zukes treats. I chose the regular ones (as opposed to the minis) because they are good size to be given “just because” and if you need a smaller training treat-they are easy to break apart. Sorry for the not so good pictures. I had other stuff planned but with the Iphone-this is what y’all are getting!

Large Dog Gift

 

Small Dog Gift

 

I’m going to make the rules easy:

1. Comment to THIS post between 8 am EST August 20, 2011 through 11:59 PM EST August 21, 2011. That right-just a weekend to win. Tell me if you are entering for the small dog gift or the large dog gift. Only one entry per family.

2. Sorry, but no one related to me or the girls is eligible.

3. I’ll use Random.org to pick a winner Monday then email you for your contact information so make sure its a working email!

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog….

because our dog treat prize from Something Wagging This Way Comes just arrived!!  Personally, this is an exciting day because 1. The Lady in Waiting loves getting mail and 2. it is the first prize we have won through blogging!

Of course, Daisy was all over wanting to open up the box. Bella just wanted out of there!  My two opposite girls.  The good thing is Bella takes treats veeeeery slowly so I can get a picture of her enjoying them! Not possible with Daisy. Both of the girls really liked the treats and I love that they are wheat free!  I just hope the girls don’t start expecting all the mail to taste this good.

Oh! Is this box for me?

Not too sure about this box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!

Um, I really don't like that box!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daisy is very excited about FOOD! Bella is trying to run away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open them please!!

 

 

 

Yummy Berry!