Wordless Wednesday: Olivia and her Donut [Video]

Holiday Update

Boy has it been a busy few weeks! I thought I'd get a chance to do this sooner but even on my days off from work it seemed like I just couldn't find the time!

Last year I went a little overboard for Olivia's first Christmas. I bought her every single toy that I thought was cute. This year I only bought a few things that I thought she would like or that were useful (like a pre-soaped sponged for bath time).

Olivia's stocking stuffers from my favorite local store

Her big gift was a Snoozer car seat. We put it under the tree on Christmas eve and she climbed right in for a nap. She definitely knew it was for her! She loved it still when we took her for her maiden voyage in the car with it. She couldn't decide whether to nap or look out the window!

We had a lot of fun goofing off and playing together this holiday season and Olivia even helped make ugly sweater cookies while wearing my childhood apron haha.

Olivia wasn't too excited about ringing in the new year but she did watch the ball drop on tv with Brian and I at midnight before we all crashed and went to bed.

My New Year's blogging resolution for 2015: Be more consistent with my blog!

Last Minute Gifts for Animal Lovers

With Christmas Eve being tomorrow there sure are a lot of people out shopping still. I'm betting some people will continue shopping right up until the stores close tomorrow night. I'm thinking some of these last minute shoppers may have an animal lover on their list so I decided to compile some last minute gift ideas for such folks.

Google Images

• A Calendar with the recipients favorite breed/animal on it

This may seem a little cheesy, but it's something that is usually pretty easy to find, especially in a pinch. Not to mention that most people use a calendar, whether in their personal or work life.

• Gourmet pet treats (specific to the animal they own)

Even if this seems more like a gift for the recipient's fur baby, I know that if I received gourmet cookies for Olivia I'd still consider it a gift for me because I would get to enjoy feeding those cookies to Olivia. 

• A gift card to a pet friendly restaurant

I love to take Olivia to restaurants with outside patios when the weather is nice, and I have a lot of friends who do the same with their pooches. You could even write a cute note with the gift card about how you thought the recipient could enjoy a fun meal out with [Fido]. Just be sure to ask ahead of time and make sure the chosen restaurant allows dogs, don't assume.

• Board Games

I don't know about other brand games but I know there is Cat-opoly, Dog-opoly, horse-opoly, and even dog breed specific -opolies. If you only know your friend has a dog and not the specific bree, you could just purchase the generic dog version. Even if they never play the actual game, it will still look cute on a game or coffee table!

• Tree Ornament

If you know the recipient's dog/cat/horse/bird/etc's name you can have it written on an ornament at one of those Christmas stores/kiosks that are at most malls. This makes a cute personalized gift that is relatively in-expensive and doesn't take long to make.

Thinking About My Christmas List

With Christmas fast approaching, I've been doing a lot of Christmas shopping. I keep threatening Olivia that she will have coal in her stocking on Christmas morning because she's been rather naughty. We live in a neighborhood of horse farms and we have 13 acres of our own that Olivia loves to play on. But she and my parent'd dog, Fern Louise have gotten in a horrible habit of chasing squirrels. That in itself isn't bad, it's the ear splitting barking that causes us a problem. My mom is worried about upsetting the neighbors (even though they all have barking dogs as well). Fern Louise will come when my dad goes out to tell her she's being bad. But Olivia.... she won't make eye contact, and then she turns and runs away. You could ( and we have) easily spend an hour trying to catch her. She's just so darn stubborn. And this is why I keep telling her she won't be getting anything but coal for Christmas.

But there's one thing I'd love to get her (okay, I'd enjoy it way more than she would). The GoPro Fetch camera mount. It's GoPro's dog harness that has two camera mounts, one on the chest and one on the back. It looks so cool, and I already have the GoPro (it was my Christmas present last year). I jsut love tech-y toys, especially when there is a dog spin on them! Check out the promo video below and let me know what you think!

(And let's be honest, even with all the talk of not buying Olivia anything for Christmas... there will be many gifts under the tree with a "To Olivia, Love Mommy" tag loving taped to it. I can't stay mad at that adorable squishy face for any amount of time.)

Wordless Wednesday: Family Portrait

Holiday Family Portrait Day, By Olivia

For today's post I'm going to try something I've never don before. 'm going to let Olivia take the wheel... er, rather keyboard. She has a lot to say about today's outing.


Olivia here! Today started out like any other day. Mommy's alarm went off and then I helped Mommy wake up Daddy (she poked him and I stepped on his head. We make a great team). Daddy put my coat on and i went out to... take care of business. Then I came in and had a lovely breakfast before we went out and took care of those very large, very delicious smelling, funny looking dogs that Mommy calls "horses". Mommy told me that she had to make herself beautiful for the portrait but that since I am already beautiful (duh) there wasn't much to do to me.

I sat in my dog bed in the bathroom and watched as Daddy shaved off all the whiskers on his face (Mommy told him to). This always amazes me. Doesn't he realize how important those whiskers are? Mommy got all pretty and then she said it was my turn. My turn? She came at me with a dress. And she stuffed me into it. She called it my Christmas dress. I don't think I really like my Christmas dress but my Mommy, and my Granny made a big fuss over me when I was wearing it, so maybe it's not so  bad.

Mommy, Daddy, and I got in the car and I didn't realize until then that Mommy had also brought my sissy (Harley the cat)! Harley screamed the whole way to the store where we sat for a nice man who had bright light bulbs that flashed. Apparently this was what Mommy called the portrait. I love going to that store. I always get lots of home made cookies and everything smells so good in there!

After the portrait we walked around what Mommy calls "Downtown. Sissy was in her carrier bag and nobody even realized she was there. We went in a few stores and Mommy showed me off to the people she knows through her work. Then we sat outside at a cafe and Mommy and Daddy had breakfast. I got to sit on a chair at the table because Mommy says I'm well behaved.

I watched some little birds while Mommy and Daddy had
breakfast. Sissy is in that zebra bag.

There were two big English Bulldogs waiting for their person who was inside eating and everyone who passed made a big fuss over them.

It was a fun day, aside from the Christmas dress, and I always like getting to go out places with my Mommy and Daddy.

Mommy is excited to get something called proofs early next week. all I know is I'm exhausted from looking so cute all day!


Do your parents dress you guys up and take you for portraits?

Christmas is about family

Chucky and I in our matching hats

Some of those that I grew up with and called family are not here to celebrate with me anymore. I'm talking about furbabies/fursiblings.

My childhood cat, Chucky Tommy (named after the Rugrats), died a little over a year ago. He was fifteen, riddled with cancer, and senile. He was a great playmate growing up. I would dress him in doll dresses, push him in doll strollers, put him in doll cribs. He got forgotten in a hamper once. He slept on my head like a turban every night. I'd carry him around the house, he would wrap his legs around me and wrap his tail around me like a monkey. He never once tried to destroy the Christmas tree, but he did enjoy sitting under it on the velvet tree skirt my mom made. This Christmas my mom found the little Santa hat I'd always put on him this time of year. Seeing it brought me to tears. I miss him dearly.

(From left to right) Stella, Frankie, me, and Chucky

We had two Greyhounds, Francesca "Frankie" and Stella, also childhood companions. What wonderful dogs they were, and so loving. Frankie was mine and Stella was my mom's. Frankie was named after a male pony I once leased for a summer. They were both rescues from the track. Every year the girls would get new toys for Christmas. Stella usually got a new bone. Frankie got squeaky toys. One year we gave her a Christmas moose and another year she got a possum. She loved the flip them through the air and squeak them till they squeaked no more. Frankie's end was unexpected. She was 11, but still so happy. Her back end began to fail her rapidly. We lost her 2 days before I left for my first year of college. I spent the next year randomly bursting into tears at random times and saying "my dog is dead". It was horrible. Stella was 13 and that was more expected, but still hurt none the less.

Frankie and her Christmas possum

I made this after Frankie died and paid to have it made into a sticker
that I put on my RAV 4

Olivia's joy is contagious, I can't wait for her to open her gifts tomorrow morning. But I know seeing her with her new toys will remind me of Frankie with her possum. I miss carrying Chucky around wearing our matching Santa hats. I miss Stella's watchful eye while we opened presents, and then she would sneak up when you weren't looking and steal the things she liked.

I love you babies, and I miss you so much. Merry Christmas, I know you're all celebrating together in heaven.

Stella and Chucky
Chucky would sit with Stella when she wasn't feeling well

Chucky licking his foot haha

Stella, Frankie, and I before my high school freshman
year semi-formal

Frankie (the rippling in her forehead is a scar. She
got kicked in the head by a deer and had something
like 30+ pieces of her skull wired back together.
She made it though it.)

Stella

Stella

Another Fun Day

Yesterday I spent my morning like I bet most people are these last few days leading up to Christmas. I was shopping. For my mom. My mom has accumulated a lot of knick knacks over the 30-40 years and I'm sure a lot of them are gifts I picked for her. This year I wanted to give her something she would actually use and enjoy and was having a hard time. I ended up getting her software for her one sewing machine (she loves to sew). But after witnessing some truly spectacular grid-lock and the best *cough* sarcasm *cough* driving I've ever seen, I was ready to unwind. That morning I'd promised to take Olivia to the park and I planned to make good on that promise.

I went home to get her and headed back out to town. I'm not sure our walk was relaxing... Olivia was trotting along cheerfully which forced me to power walk, but we had fun together. She found a stick (she loves sticks) and really enjoyed sniffing out all the smells. I had a good time watching her enjoy the park so much. This all caused me to come up with an early New Year's Resolution:

To take Olivia out for walks at the park, etc. more often.

It's not something I really think of because Olivia and Fern get so much exercise running around our farm. Unlike a lot of dog owners, I can just open the back door and let them run free instead of having to walk them every time they have to go potty. But it's not about exercise. It's about spending time with my little Olivia, putting the phone away (except to take photos), and enjoying being outside playing together.

After the park we headed to Petsmart to make up the first two classes of the Advanced class that we missed. Olivia's trainer was so excited to see her, and Olivia was excited to see Debra as well! We worked on sitting when meeting a friendly stranger, loose leash walking going into heel, waving, and touch. We go back on Friday for week three and Olivia FINALLY will get to meet her classmates.

happy to be back in class

Last night after we got home and took care of the horses my parents, Olivia, and I (Brian's in NJ for work) went to the local five star hotel for the Christmas caroling party (they allow well behaved dogs in the hotel bar/lobby/lounge). Olivia wore her Christmas dress and got to have her photo taken (again) with Santa. Everyone fawned over her and everyone wanted to tell me how their sister's boyfriend's great aunt's nephew's uncle has/had/is getting a Boston. It's so funny to me that it seems every where I go with Olivia some stranger(s) comes up to me to tell me about their experience with Bostons (or sometimes with Frenchies). We had a great time, although my arms did hurt a bit from holding Olivia all night. There were a lot of people and I didn't want to risk her getting stepped on but she was also tired. Olivia weighs a whopping 15.8 lbs now!

Wordless Wednesday: Gift Wrapping Edition

"I'm gonna play with my bottle
cruncher fox on top of this book
that you're trying to wrap"

"here, wrap my fox"

"let me help you with this
wrapping paper"

Olivia Goes to See Christmas Lights

Last night Brian and I took Olivia to see Christmas lights at this place we have here in town called Hopeland Gardens. They boasted 100,000 lights over 1.5 miles of trail.

We had to park the car at a park and take a shuttle over. I didn't know this in advance and was a little worried they wouldn't let Olivia on board. Good planning on the town/whoever was in charge of this event because they actually had one dog friendly bus! We were the only ones on board it. Olivia thought it was great fun and really enjoyed trotting around the park. I'm not sure she loved having to pose every two steps with various light displays but oh well, and I'm sure Brian (who was holding her leash) must have gotten tired of hearing "pose her with [fill in the blank], yes, right here, no not there, here". With other people around and distractions I couldn't always convince Olivia to look at the camera... oh well.

Here's the photos:

Wordless Wednesday: Olivia's Photoshoot

Back when we went to the Amazing Pet Expo: Atlanta, Olivia had her photo taken by the pet photographer. The photos were then green screened and sent to me. Here's how they came out:

Christmas Carols

As Christmas approaches and I get in the holiday spirit, I've found myself making up my own Christmas Carols. They go something like this:

Jingle Bostons, Jingle Bostons

Jingle all the way!

Oh what fun it is to ride

In a fart powered sleigh!

Olivia is quite gassy (I hear it's a Boston Terrier thing) so this one is based on the fact that Olivia farts constantly whether she has to go potty or not.

Hark the Harley

Olivia sings,

Glory to Fern Louise!

So Harley is my cat and those of you who read my previous post from Monday know that Fern Louise is my parent's/the family dog. 

My own bad singing made me interested in other pet related takes on the classics, this is what I came up with:

But First, my favorite dog Christmas video... yes it does star a Boston....

Ok, here's the Christmas carols:

Olivia's Christmas Dog Toy Giveaway!

Olivia and I would like to spread Christmas cheer with our fellow [dog] bloggers (sorry kitties!). I put together a prize pack that I hope will be appropriately sized for most pups.

Contents:

1- Mickey Mouse Bottle Cruncher

1- Ginger Bread Man Crinkle Toy (Stuffing-Free)

1- Sweet Potato Pie Wet Nose Stocking Stuffer Sized Treats

1- Apple Pie Wet Nose Stocking Stuffer Sized Treats

If you would like to be in the running for Olivia's Giveaway please e-mail me with the subject Olivia's Giveaway and in the body of the e-mail your name and email address so I can e-mail the winner. 

I tried to set up a linky tool but got confused. I'm going to pick the old fashioned way- put all the names (with their e-mail addresses) in a hat and then blindly pull one.

I will pull the winner on December 10, 2013 and will let the winner know via e-mail as soon as I can after that. Hopefully, if everything works like I hope the winner will receive their prize in time for Christmas!