Sep 03
Everyone,
As I type this, my dog Soot is dreaming on the couch. Her little tail is wagging, her little paws are twitching, and her little nose is wiggling. Sometimes little yips come from her corner of the couch. Sometimes little growls. Sometimes little whines. It’s completely adorable.
My friend Lolli just went to BlogPaws the Conference for Pet Bloggers, Pet Brands, and Pet Health Care Professionals and brought us back a bunch of goodies for Soot. In honor of the conference, Pedigree has decided to launch a Write a Post, Help a Dog Campaign. The event last year in September included 391 bloggers who wrote about Help a Dog Campaign. With each post, Pedigree donated 20 pounds of its Healthy Longevity dog food to shelter animals. In all, 7,820 pounds of food was donated to two shelters known across the country for their dedication to the care and re-homing of senior dogs: Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco and Castaway Critters in Harrisburg, Pa.
How you can help in 2011
Simply spread the word about Write a Post, Help a Dog 2011 and once again Pedigree will donate 20 pounds of food for each blog post. If you don’t have a blog feel free to tweet about the campaign or share on Facebook so your friends who do blog can participate. All bloggers are welcome even if you do not generally talk about pets on your blog. Its all about using Social Media for Social Good.
Here’s how it works:
- The Write a Post, Help a Dog program is aimed at raising awareness of the more then 4 million dogs that wind up in shelters and breed rescues each year. As well as to help get them all food (our goal is 10,000 lbs of food in the next two weeks) for the more than four million dogs that wind up in shelters and breed rescues each year.
- For each blog post mentioning the Pedigree Foundation from now until midnight ET on September 3, Pedigree will donate 20 pounds of its new dry Pedigree recipe food for dogs — its best recipe ever — to a shelter, because every dog deserves leading nutrition.
- Feel free to make your post more visually appealing.
- The Pedigree Foundation — a 501 (C)(3) nonprofit organization is committed to helping dogs by providing grants to shelters and rescues and encouraging dog adoption. This year the Foundation has already raised more than $376,570 against its goal of $1.5 million to carry out its work to fund grants that not only help shelters operate, but to further shelter innovations.
The Pedigree Foundation depends on charitable contributions from individuals to carry out its mission to help dogs find loving homes. In addition to writing a blog post, here’s how you can help:
Even though this ends tonight, you still have several hours to get your post in! Or please, consider donating to a good cause. Hopefully, by doing this, there will be more happy doggie dreams in the future.
Safire
SafireSoot Soot
Nov 16
Everyone,
10. Dogs can be helpful. My dog loves to pull the legs of the giant crickets we have and then leave them jumpless and defenceless for me to step on. They can also kill mice.
9. Dogs can be companions. I have noticed that my dog has been following me around lately. She goes into the room I go into. She is constantly watching me. And after having the kids chase me around the house while I’m trying to have a conversation on the phone, having a dog chase me too is just so helpful.
8. Dogs can be fun. This is especially true when they decide to roll in the mud/muck/filth and then rub it on your couch.
7. Dogs give you someone to think about other than yourself. Well, if you are a good dog owner that is.
6. Dogs make great dust busters. For crumbs. Except when you have to police what they eat because dog farts are silent and deadly.
5. Dogs are happy to be outside with you. Or not with you. Any kind of outside is good. Okay, maybe especially with out you.
4. Dogs can be protection. From scary mean things like vacuum cleaners and the moon moving.
3. Dogs are loyal. Except when they are not and then make you wonder about how good of an owner you are. See point #7.
2. Dogs are members of your family. That you lock away in a cage when the mood strikes and call it their bed. Sadly, this does not work as well for children as it does for dogs.
1. Dogs are giving. Sometimes, they give you a huge diarrhea mess to clean up in the morning. All over the dining room. And sometimes they give you a huge puddle of dried pee in the kitchen. That has been walked over and walked around the kitchen so that no place in the kitchen (or the dining room for that matter) is untouched with dog excrement. And sometimes, it takes you an hour to clean it up in the morning before school. And sometimes, you curse owning a dog/taking away her cage/locking her in the house because the dog is just so giving.
Safire
SafireSoot dog
Sep 23
Everyone,
I typically don’t have anything (or any time) to post in the mornings. But today Juice took Butterfly to school for me (yay!) and so I have a few extra moments. I thought I’d share them with you! And in list form! Because that’s how I’m thinking lately.
1. Soot the puppy has become quite the dangerous animal to small rodents! She now has killed 2 rats, 2 mice, and one baby rabbit. On rat and baby rabbit in the past week. The baby rabbit was last night. She spent hours digging on our deck and barking. Juice came home (late) and pulled up the deck boards to see what was under there. We thought it was another rat. Soot pounced, killed and backed away. Juice picked it up to throw it out and discovered it was a baby bunny. And then we were sad! Interesting how happy we were when we thought it was a rat but sad when it was a bunny. She went right to the other side of the deck and has been out there all evening and morning barking and digging. Also, slobbering all over the deck. This time, we’re not pulling the boards up though!
2. Interested in winning a cool prize? Amy over at The Finer Things of Life has a really awesome cutter/crafter thing on sale. I REALLY want to win this…not sure why though. Maybe because I can use it to make vinyl letters and I want to put something on my wall. Also, it would be nice for scrap booking! So go and enter. If you win, I need to borrow it for at least…a year. Thanks!
3. Juice picked Butterfly up from school on Monday (while I was taking my parents to the airport) and she told him a story about school. I guess they were lining up to go inside from recess. She heard a boy tell another boy that she looked really pretty that day. Wow was she happy about that! And oh boy…
4. The winner of the Mastermind Tower game is: varunner7 from
Congrats! Email me your information by Saturday at safirecat at gmail dot com so I can send you the game!
Safire
SafireSoot, winnings Soot, winners
Feb 03
Everyone,
This morning after breakfast I was cold. I normally do my exercising right after breakfast but I couldn’t seem to bring myself to take off my nice warm pjs and into my cold work out clothes. I curled up in my bed instead and read my book. The kids were playing so nicely downstairs. I felt so decadent sitting in my bed by myself with a book mid morning.
That feeling didn’t last.
It quickly disappeared when I hadn’t heard the boys in awhile. I wasn’t engrossed in the book that much to tune out the kids, but it was strangely quiet. I hopped right up and went to check on them and Butterfly. Butterfly was playing in the living room with the barn and the frogs (yes, frogs) and there were no little boys to be seen. I asked her where they were. “I dunno,” she answered never taking her eyes from her toys. So I start searching the house.
I looked all over my living room. In the little house area, nope. How about under a coffee table that’s shoved in the corner? Nope. In the kitchen? No. Dining room? Nope. Bathroom? No. Upstairs! I checked under beds, in closets, and finally all through my room. No where! Either they are really good at hiding or I am missing some place.
And then I hear it. Laughter. From outside. Suddenly I knew. They had gone out the dog door and were playing in the snow we got last night on our deck. 
In their pjs. With no shoes or coats on. Good thing they had footie pjs on or we would have had some cold baby toes.
Professor came right in when I opened the sliding door to let them in. Pirate sat hugging the fence and sucking his thumb. 
I can’t fit out the door to the deck because of the dog door so I had to send Butterfly out to get him. At least I had her put boots on before going out.
I am so thankful they went out the back door and not the front. And I’m grateful for a strong fence to keep them contained. They sure had a lot of fun but I think they gave me a few gray hairs today. This was the only playing outside we did with this latest snow. This weekend they are calling for 12-20 inches so hopefully we’ll be able to go play in that!
We’ll just plan on going out the front door and not the doggy door.
Safire
Safiredouble trouble, snow, Soot
Mar 16
Everyone,
At times, our house is very full. Full of loud fun noises, not so fun noises, and running/crawling children and dogs. It’s chaos shoved into about 1300 square feet, but I love it so much.
Today everyone except me was racing through the house. Willow the puppy was first, with Soot the dog very close behind. Then Butterfly, Professor, and Pirate. Everyone was in high spirits and moving as fast as they were able to. Soot veered from the path Willow was taking and jumped up on the back of the couch. It’s her favorite place to sit. Willow decided she would join her. She raced from one end of our living room to the couch, leaped up to the seats, and bounced up to the top of the couch. Where she proceeded to bounce over the couch and land in a heap on the other side. I don’t think she realized that it didn’t just keep going.
I thought it was pretty funny, until I heard her yowling. Uh-oh. She comes limping out from behind the couch, refusing to use her back right leg. What is it with these back right legs and my house?! She got a little better through out the day but was still limping pretty bad by the time her owner came to get her. I don’t think it’s broken because she doesn’t seem to mind me running my hands all over it, but it’s definitely hurt.
Poor Willow. I hope she feels better soon.
In other news, I spent the afternoon talking to my BFF Mink in Utah. I miss her so much sometimes. We talk probably every 2 weeks or so and it’s the highlight of my week often. She and I have known each other since 8th grade. We had 5 of 7 classes together in 9th grade, and sat next to each other in all of them. We were lab partners in biology and dissected a frog, a shark (with 6 pups in it!) and did our bug collection together. Ahh…that bug collection was the bane of our biology class. It was awful. Mostly because we pinned them to the board the night before and turned them in…still moving. Yuck! We learned french together, dated boys in high school together, and I think I introduced her to her husband. (Whom she also dated in high school.) We got married within months of each other and had pretty close in age. We both like horses and reading and have similar parenting philosophies.
I’m excited to see her and her 2 kiddos in June when I go to Utah. I’m excited to see all sorts of people in Utah in June. Should be fun!
Safire
SafireMink and Spider and Fair, Soot, Willow
Mar 05
Everyone,
Remember how I said that the x-ray techs kicked me out of the x-ray room because of a risk of pregnancy? Remember how I scoffed?
Yeah, that’s still totally true.
Our good friend and old neighbor has a new puppy! She is so sweet. She is black with a tiny bit of white on her mouth that makes her look like milk is dribbling down her chin. She is a cocker spaniel and completely adorable.
She is staying with me during the day for the next little while. So she’s going to be joining the family in the day. Her name is Willow. So cute! I love the puppy breath, the soft fur, the soft feet, the growling bark, the yipping in fear, the need to be next to another living thing…ah…I love puppies. And babies. And I’ve got both! Times 2! My blog is going to be so sticky sweet for the next little while that you will all get cavities. Sorry. I do happen to know a good dentist who happens to be my brother in law.
She already knows how to get out of the house through the dog door (she can’t get out yet, she can’t open the flap but she knows where to get out). She slept at my feet for a good hour and a half while I scrap booked with Lolli. She is seriously unnerving Soot though. Our puppy, while a very good puppy, is not all that social with other dogs. I hope having another puppy around will help Soot as well as Willow.
Also, I got a new member of my camera family. A flash! I was having fun with it yesterday, but today I can’t seem to get it working. Stupid batteries. (At least that’s what the manual says it is. I’m off to buy more batteries as we speak.)
Safire
Safirecamera stuff, Lavender, puppy, Soot
Feb 27
Everyone,
Doing the taxes took all my concentration. Here’s a cute photo of the week. Enjoy!
Looking for more great photos? Head on over to my friend Lolli‘s blog.
Safire
Safirepicture taking, Soot
Feb 04
Everyone,
My days at home are going to start to run together. Today was nice with a visit from Lolli and her youngest AJ. Butterfly and AJ played for about 4 hours, most of which was spent going down the slide and chasing poor Soot around the house.
Professor followed the big kids around chirping “Huh! Huh!” and eating dog food while I wasn’t looking. Yes, people, dog food. I do put up the dog’s food while the boys are on the floor but I have one messy dog. She loves to tote her food somewhere else and eat it. An annoying habit. Sometimes she gets distracted and doesn’t eat the food she’s carried in her mouth to her eating place of choice. And Professor, my vacuum cleaner extraordinaire, finds them and tries to eat them.
So not only does one baby have a broken leg, the other baby is going to die from dog food poisoning. Sigh…
Safire
SafireButterfly, Lolli, P and P, Pirate's Broken Leg, Soot
Jan 23
Everyone,
A- Guess who didn’t go to bed till after midnight last night?
B- Guess who decided to start her day off with chocolate?
C- Guess who found the stairs and went up about 4 before I found him?
D- Guess who took a nap today?
E- Guess who rode the metro for the 8th time in 4 days today?
F- Guess who cried all through dinner?
G- Guess who is growing?
H- Guess who went for a run today?
I- Guess who got the mail?
J- Guess who cries every time I put him down?
K- Guess whose pants are a good 2 inches too short?
L- Guess who needs his finger nails cut?
M- Guess who has had leftovers almost every day this week?
N- Guess who has not played the Wii in days?
O- Guess who is excited for Monday?
Answers:
A- I didn’t get home from book club till about midnight. We were having too much fun! When I got home, everyone was screaming for me except for Juice. He was in his bed with his head under his pillow. After talking to Butterfly about what I did with my friends (she woke up when I called Juice to tell him I was going to be late), feed both boys and got myself into bed it was around 1am. B- Because Butterfly was up so late, she woke up screaming with big dark circles under he eyes. She stopped crying when I suggested a piece of chocolate to get something in her. Worked. C- Mr. Mischief! AKA, Professor. So help me… D- We ALL took a nap today. Well, not Juice. E- Juice has been going downtown for work this week. He doesn’t get home until 7pm every night. And it’s going to be like this every day next week too. Sigh… F- Poor Pirate. G- I’m going to guess Pirate’s problem is growing. He is very cross. H- Soot. The weather was so nice I figured we could all go for a walk and make some vitamin D from the sunshine. Soot ran around like she hadn’t been out in weeks. Oh wait, she hasn’t. I- Butterfly did! She put the key in, got it open, and took out every piece of mail one by one. There was a lot of mail. We haven’t gotten the mail in days. J- This is another Pirate thing. He wants to nurse all day long but for tiny 3 second spurts at a time, because there are too many interesting things going on. So I won’t let him and so he cries whenever I put him down. K- Butterfly! All of a sudden, you can see her ankles and the bottom part of her calves. Looks like it’s time for new pants. L- Juice. At least, I’m assuming that’s why he’s cutting his nails right now. M- That would be me and Butterfly for dinner. Juice normally takes the leftovers to work with him for lunches but since he’s been going downtown, he can’t. So we’ve had leftovers every night but Monday and Tuesday. Good thing is that I have most of my meals for next week all ready. N- That would be me. Every time I turn it on, Butterfly is drawn to it and takes over. She loves the photo channel. O- Me! It’s Chinese New Year and I get to order Chinese food for dinner. Yum!
Safire
SafireButterfly, daily stuff, Juice., me., Pirate, Professor, Soot
Jan 17
Everyone,
We have started a new thing every month. We have been trying to have a monthly game night with friends to come over every second Friday. We’ve only had one. Other things have gotten in the way. BUT, we invited our old neighbors over every time we have it. Lavender (our old neighbor) liked it so much she decided to invite us over to her house every third Saturday.
I love going up there for the drive. They moved about an hour north of us in a little country town. (As country as it gets out here. Frankly, it’s bigger than the town in Idaho that I went to college in when I was there 10 years ago.) It was founded in the 1700s and I love driving through main street and seeing all the old churches. They live out of town about 10 minutes and I always see horses and cows on the way out there.
We always bring Soot. As we cross the Catoctin River bridge, she starts to whine. She loves it out there as much as we do. Lavender has a pug of her own, and fosters cocker spaniels. She had a brand new foster today named Rusty. And apparently he is good with kids because he could care less about ours. He was very interested in Soot but she wanted nothing to do with him.
We played Uno tonight, and Butterfly won the very first game. Then she lost the other 3 times we played and cried big sobbing tears. “But I wanted to win! It’s fun to win!” Ahhh, sore looser. She does have it right though, it’s fun to win! She’ll learn to be better with this eventually.
We had yummy tacos for dinner. Butterfly declared our meat better than Lavender’s (sorry Lavender) and only ate tortillas. The boys did very well and we only had to take away the dogs toys from Professor three times and wash his hands from playing in the dog’s water once. Pirate was so happy with the toys we brought him and was angelic. Butterfly entertained herself with the small dog openings in the gates Lavender has up and ordered the dogs around. Soot listens, and the rest of the dogs followed Soot around. It was cute.
All the kids fell asleep within minutes of getting into the van. Juice and I had a nice conversation on the way home. We got to see some snow! I believe this is the first snow fall for the boys that actually touched their skin. And that was only for a second as we bustled them into the car to get home.
We are looking forward to our next visit.
Safire
SafireLavender, monthly game night, Soot
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