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.