Christmas Greetings from Pooch Smooches!

I was going to save this for (mostly) Wordless Wednesday, but I figured many of you (including me!) won't be online (much) tomorrow, so here's our early Wordless Wed. Christmas greeting! 

Have yourselfie a merry little Christmas!

From our familial unit to yours...

Monday Mischief: Something's a Little Fishy Around Our Christmas Tree

Last week, I decorated our tree. Usually it's just a hodgepodge of ornaments collected over the years, but this year I decided I wanted to have a "dogs at the beach" themed tree, so I ordered some sand dollar ornaments and starfish, and I made some ornaments using shells. Then I decorated the tree with blue/turquoise ornaments, dog ornaments and all the shells. 

I thought it came out very cute and couldn't stop looking at it. Rita, on the other paw, was interested in it for other reasons... cuz it smelled like the beach.

Mirth Watch Thursday: Pet Blogger Gift Exchange Edition - Wag N Woof!

It's that most wonderful time of the year! Time for stressing out about gift-buying and menu-planning and trying to scratch things off your mile long to-do list!

But it's also time for the annual Pet Blogger's Gift Exchange - offering a lovely respite from all that stress. Why, you ask? Isn't a gift exchange just another thing to stress out about? No! Not when you do it like Pamela from Something Wagging This Way Comes and AJ from I Still Want More Puppies, the co-hosts for this year's event. These very wise ladies have come up with a "gift" exchange idea that doesn't involve buying anything! It's all about sharing the gift of "encouragement and blog love."

I was very excited when I was paired with Janet from Wag 'N Woof Pets! If you've never visited their blog, you should go there. Now. (I'll wait.)

Are you back? I mean, how freaking cute is their blog header??

Meet the Bloggers: Rita's Mom Gets Wordy Again

Today I'm joining the "Meet the Bloggers" hop.

I feel like you guys already know tons about me, since I don't hide behind Rita for posting. After all, part of the reason I have this blog is to attract attention for my writing, so I have to put myself out there as myself, not just as "Rita's mom." I post pics of myself every once in a while, and my mug is always there on the right side-bar. Plus I share interviews that I've done, so... you guys already know me, probably as well as you know Rita. But... I thought this sounded like such a fun hop so I wanted to play along. Hope that's cool.

Monday Mischief: Pooch Smooches Invaded by Cats!

Okay folks... We've got some SERIOUS mischief on the blog here today... We've been taken over by CATS!! I've had to restrain Rita (and it's not unlike when the gardener's here...). But because Rita has a love of cat toys...

Rita almost succeeds in eating my sis's cat's toy.

 ... and tuna treats, she agreed to allow the cats to take over for the day. So, please welcome Jane & Bingley, who own my fabulous writer pal, Laura Chapman. Laura just launched her first novel (**throws confetti**) and Jane & Bingley are here to take a lot of credit for that tell how they helped! 

See Beautiful: It's Easy to See Around Us

This is our first time finally remembering to join the See Beautiful blog hop, hosted by Sugar the Golden Retriever. I love the idea of this hop, but I just kept forgetting to join. Well, I finally remembered!

We always try to see beautiful, especially when we are out on our walks together.

We see it in the grand vistas... (This is a view from one spot on our walks. The air was so clear the other day, you could see the islands in Mexico).

Mirth Watch Thursday: Trash-Talk the Gardener Or Eat Treats?

A few weeks ago, I posted some photos of Rita doing her acrobatic jumping when the gardeners show up. Remember these? (Apologies in advance for the quality of these pics and videos... we always hide out in the dark when the gardener comes. I don't know why, but I have it in my head that she'll be calmer in the dark. Which doesn't seem to be the case...and yet I persist.)

Wordless Wednesday: A Study in Contrasts

Today, I present a study in contrasts...these pics having been taken literally less than 1 minute apart:

Tasty Tuesday: Buy These Treats with a Clear Conscience

Rita and I were contacted by Clear Conscience Pet and offered a chance to try some of their yummy treats, so today we are joining the Tasty Tuesday blog hop!

I've said here before that we always read the labels on treats/food we buy for Rita and never buy things from China, so we were happy to hear that Clear Conscience Pet offers USA made and sourced treats. (Note that you have to be even more careful these days! Some treats will say they are "Made in the USA" - but they might be made with ingredients sourced from outside the US.)

All their treats are made using free-range, grass-fed, or organically raised sources. They are also grain-free, gluten-free, and very low in carbs.

Monday Mischief: What Rita is Reading

I was sitting out in the backyard this weekend with my book. (Sorry... a little mischief there... I know many of you could not sit out in your backyards at the moment for more than about 2 minutes without freezing...). Anyway, I hadn't started reading yet, and just had the book in my lap. Rita came over and kept shoving the cover open with her nose. She's never done that with a book before, so she must have thought it looked (or smelled) good!

Mirth Watch Thursday: Why You Should Always Squeak the Toy in the Store

In keeping with yesterday's theme about gift-giving for dogs, I was reminded of a video I took of our angel Abby with one of her presents, and I thought it would make nice "mirth watch" viewing. (Speaking of yesterday's post... did you enter the giveaway?)

When I went back a couple of years on the blog to find it, I saw the cute pics and other pressies she got and decided to share all that again, cuz (a) she was SO cute and (b) I think a lot of you were not here 2 years ago so probably missed some of the cuteness. 

So, here's what I wrote about all of Abby's gifts back in Dec. 2011, plus your mirth watch video for this week:

"Hey, that dog looks like me!"

First of all, she got this very cute Christmas stocking specially handmade for her by her Aunt. She was very intrigued by it - even when it was empty. If you look closely, you'll see that the one dog on the right-hand side looks a lot like our girl! So cute!

Abby also got this very fine orange alligator in her Christmas stocking. My brother actually made toys for all the dogs in the family. He bought a gross of squeakers online (did you know you could buy squeakers in bulk?) and got some heavy-duty fabric and started whipping up dog toys on my sister-in-law's sewing machine. He is a very good doggy uncle. (He also made dog treats out of leftover grain from his beer making endeavors. She loves them.)

Her present from us was also an alligator, which (as you can see) she has already turned into a tripawd. (It was the very first thing she did.) [Ed. note added 12/4/2013: She loved to turn her toys into 3-legged things. There used to be a woman we would see at the beach who carried a small "monkey" pouch for her keys that hung off a cord at her hip. Abby snuck up once and chewed one of his legs off.]

What were the odds we'd both get 'er a gator?

I did not think to squeak this gater in the store. Big mistake. I'd been looking at some other no-stuffing toys that had recycled water bottles inside, and I thought this was the same sort of thing. I thought it would just make that crinkling, cracking sound that empty water bottles make. Um, no. It makes these crazy noises, as captured in the following video. (Note: the *other* crazy noise is just my sister's laugh...)

After opening her own presents, Abby thought everything was for her. Here she is perusing Grandma's presents:

"For me??"

And she got a bone, that she tried to hide behind the Christmas tree.

"No one can see me..."

Hope you enjoyed this stroll down memory lane and don't mind me reusing content. After all, it's the most busiest time of the year! (BTW, pretty pleased with myself - was able to look at old posts and pics and watch the video of Ab with nothing but smiles. Some sad smiles, but still... smiles.)

Happy Mirth Watch Thursday. Let's be mirthful out there!*

* If you ever watched the wonderful Hill Street Blues you will get this reference...

Wordless (ahem) Wednesday: Giveaway! Gifts To Keep Or To Give!

Excuse me if I am a tiny bit wordy on Wordless Wednesday (you always do, right?), but I wanted to tell you about our special giveaway -- it's a gift from me to you, or for you to pass on to someone else! 

After all, who doesn't like a gift?

"It's a SQUIRREL! Just what I've always wanted!"

Monday Mischief: Flea Infestation Turned Inspiration!

Pretty much every year, my sister (the excellent artist who painted my pups for my blog header) and I head over to my other sister's house to paint her windows for Christmas. (You can revisit previous windows in a guest post I did for Peggy's Pet Place last year, including tips if you want to paint your own windows!)

If you've seen the post I did for Peggy's blog, you know that my sister's dog Indy is always front and center ('natch!) for the paintings. 

Indy (She loves me. The feeling is mutual.)