Monday Mischief: Cozy Blankie!

We've discovered that Rita LOVES this faux-fur blankie we have on our sofa. Normally, it just drapes over the back of the couch, looking cozy. But one night, it was chilly so I grabbed the blankie and unfurled it to throw over the hubs and myself. Who was immediately right there wanting up for a snuggle with us? Miss Rita.

"Oh, I loooove this blankie, Momma."

Mirth Watch Thursday: 7 Smiles, 1 Scream & A Giveaway

A week or so ago, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal on the benefits of smiling. According to the article, "Researchers are finding that wearing a smile brings certain benefits, like slowing down the heart and reducing stress." One of the researchers added, "You can influence mental health by what you do with your face, whether you smile more or frown less."

So, bring your face over to Pooch Smooches and engage in some smiling. No, it's not just dorking around and a waste of time. You're reducing your stress levels!

In order to induce today's smiles, I give you: seven smiling dogs, one screaming pepper, and a chance to win fun stuff.

Seven Smilers

An adorable pup from the shelter where I volunteer. (He got adopted!)

Wordless Wednesday: To The Beach!

Snapped a few shots of Rita on the way to the beach the other day. These are taken after we turned on to the little one-way road that leads to Fiesta Island, or Disneyland for Dogs as I call it. I just held my camera over and snapped, without looking, but they still came out kinda cute.

This one is taken w/ window up, no flash

Monday Mischief: Frosty Mayhem

If you saw my post on Friday, you know we are having a Frosty Paws giveaway (enter and win some Frosty Paws for your pup!). You also remember I put all the stuffed Frosty dogs in the guest bedroom for their safety and comfort. I shut the door behind me, and figured they'd be in there resting and getting ready for their voyages to their new homes.

Well, later that night I was soaking in the tub with a book, and the hubs hears Rita in the back of the house romping around a little too happily. He goes to investigate and finds this:

Look how they're all trying to shield their eyes. Oh, the humanity!

Frosty Paws Giveaway!

October (which is quickly getting away from us) is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month. In order to help celebrate this very special month, the folks at Frosty Paws sent me TEN prize packs to give away! The prize packs include a Frosty plush toy (for humans, not for dogs) and two coupons for free boxes of Frosty Paws (for dogs, not humans - although they do look pretty tasty). They come 4 to a box, so that's 8 Frosty Paws for your pup to enjoy! (But not all in one sitting.) Or, if you have a sharing kind of pup, he or she could have an ice cream Frosty Paw social and invite all his/her pals over!

See all the giveaway details below.

"This box is practically as big as me!"

What the Dog(s) Ate: Wrenches, Hair Ties & Bras. Oh My.

Did you know there is an annual award for pet x-rays? Well there is! Yes, it's time for the annual Pet X-Ray Contest 2012 Winners! (Also - keep reading for another chance to win a paperback of What the Dog Ate!)

What's Better Than a Good Book?...

...A FREE good book!

It's time to announce the winner of my giveaway of Peggy Frezon's Dieting With My Dog, and the winner is... Danielle Murgia! (Yep, that's right... If you checked Peggy's blog this morning to see who won What the Dog Ate, the same lucky lady won both books! What are the odds? But Rafflecopter is totally random, so, it's just Danielle's lucky day. Maybe she should pick up a lottery ticket today!) 

I'll email you shortly, Daneille, to get your address. Congrats on the double win!

Speaking of being lucky... I won two books myself this week! 

Dieting With My Dog - Giveaway!

One of the really great things about publishing my book has been meeting other writers - like Peggy Frezon, author and dog columnist. So, today I wanted to introduce you to Peggy and her book, Dieting with my Dog: One Busy Life, Two Full Figures…and Unconditional Love.

My copy is on its way, so I haven't read it yet, but the book tells "the honest and heartfelt story of one overweight woman and her chubby spaniel, struggling to lose weight together. Their wonderful results will inspire anyone who wants to get fit and healthy…with their furry best friend."

“Peggy Frezon has written a charming and delightful tale. Dieting With My Dog is sweet, funny, inspiring and adorable, just like Peggy and Kelly!”

–Julie Klam, bestselling author You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness

Post Olympics Blues

Now that the Olympics are over, we have the post Olympics blues... We have had to resort to entertaining ourselves with our own sporting events around here - like Pancake Catching, Puppy Pouncing, Open Water Swimming, and the Sweet Potato Chase.

Open Water Swimming 
Remember last week I posted about Rita's first swim, and how we didn't have our camera? Well, this past weekend I remembered to bring my iPod Nano along, so we caught some videos of her in the act. (Luckily we went both days of the weekend, as the video from the first day was mostly of the hub's finger...)

So, here she is, our own little Rita Lochte: (it just occurred to me that Ryan has the word for "lake" in his name; he must have been destined to be a swimmer.) Note - please ignore my high-pitched squeaky voice in this video. She was probably trying to swim out to hold me underwater to make the squeaking stop....

One Word Wednesday: WINNER!

OK, it's supposed to be Wordless Wed., and I'm changing it to One Word Wed, but of course I can't limit myself to just one word... But the main word for today is Winner!

Without further ado, the winner of the big giveaway is (do you hear the drum roll??): Baba HooHoo!! (Isn't that the cutest login name?)

Here's how she won... I used Randomizer.org to generate a random winning number which was 23. (I like #23 since it's my birth date.) Baba Hoohoo had the 23rd comment slot, so she's our winner! And now a signed copy of the book, Smooches treats, The Honest Kitchen cookbook, and an adorable pink & brown bookmark hook all tucked up in a cheery pink tote bag will be winging their way to her!

Wordless Wednesday: Some Veggies are Scary

I believe we've established that I'm not good at the wordless thing, so here's a modicum of words and some pics for "Wordless Wednesday."

I pulled out some veggies the other night for dinner. Later I hear "THERE'S AN INTRUDER"-type barking from Rita. I figure it's someone on the street, but she won't let up, so I go out to the front of the house and she's standing in the kitchen, hackles at half-mast, barking like crazy at... the eggplant on the kitchen counter.

"Must. Kill. Evil. Eggplant."

Celebrating the Print Version: Enter the Giveaway!

I briefly mentioned the other day that the paperback version of WHAT THE DOG ATE is now available! Hooray! I can hold my book in my hot little hands. (And now you can too! Links for purchasing are at the end of the post.) So, I'm doing two things to celebrate:

Donating proceeds

I've committed to donating 10% of the proceeds of all print sales for the rest of this year to Best Friends Animal Society. I had a hard time deciding who to choose, but decided on Best Friends because I admire what they do (I'd love to visit them some day!) and love their mission: "To bring about a time when there are no more homeless pets." I can't even imagine that - what would it be like if there were no dogs and cats to rescue?? Wouldn't it be wonderful? 

So, if you buy the book in print, know that part of the money will go to help animals in need. And we're not just talking dogs and cats here! No - you'll be helping chickens, ducks, goats, horses, parrots, pigs, pigeons (adopt a pigeon??), rabbits, sheep, and one burro and one mule. (Someday I would love to have a burro or a donkey! But that's probably not going to happen in my lifetime...). Burros... those are asses right? So, buy my book and save an ass!

A Giveaway

The other thing I'm doing to celebrate is giving away a goodie bag to one lucky winner!