Thursday, December 10, 2015

Family

You can't choose your family.

Poor Sunny. Sometimes I feel bad for her because Rosy can be such a pain with all her drumstick attacking, humping, and food and toy stealing. But I know they love each other deep down because I catch them snuggling or playing together all the time now.

Picture evidence of Sunny's and Rosy's volatile relationship.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

I've been feeling WTF lately about many things. Whiskey tango foxtrot. Bah humpug!

Friday, November 13, 2015

Fashion Show

There are many promises I made to myself before adopting my pugs that I have since broken. I never intended to let my pugs lay on my brand new fabric couch, and now I've switched to all leather furniture and we camp out on the sofa together all the time. I never intended to let them onto my bed, and now I often wake up to a pug butt in my face with another pug snuggled next to me under the duvet.

But I really thought I'd hold to my last promise - to not become a crazy dog lady who dresses up her pugs. Nope. Sorry. Broken.

I've now moved beyond dressing my pugs in functional coats and sweaters for the cold weather and have bought mohawk hoodies, costumes, and even onesies. Yes, I am that crazy pug lady. And I accept that.

Behold:
Today I ordered three more onesies. Yaaassssss. 

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Ugh Bugs!

This weekend I found the first ever tick on Sunny.  It was traumatic.  Not for her, but for me.  We were at my parent's house with my sister and her family and I was rubbing Sunny's belly with my nephew.  I noticed a weird gray bump on her neck waddle and said, "What's that?  Is it moving?"  My nephew leaned in close and said, "It's moving!  It's moving!"  Chaos ensued.

Luckily, my brother-in-law was there to expertly pull out the tick, intact, with a pair of tweezers.  It was still wriggling and he put it in a plastic bag so that I could show the vet.  We then cleaned Sunny's bite wound and I called my vet in a panic.  My niece ran away and my nephew was hopping around the room shouting, "This is scary fun!  Scary fun!"

I took Sunny to the vet and her bite wound looks good and she appears to be doing okay.  But, I have to keep my eye out for any symptoms of lyme disease over the next few months.  We'll have her blood tested in January to be sure as it's too early to test it now.  I also switched both Sunny and Rosy from Frontline Plus to Nexgard.

I HATE HATE HATE all insects, spiders, ticks, etc.  All creepy crawlies!  I just want winter to come to kill all the bugs or at least make them disappear.  We should be beyond tick season!  And then as an icing on top of the cake, I saw a spider on my car today.  Luckily it was outside, but even speeding along the highway the spider clung onto my windshield wiper.  I sprayed my entire car with peppermint oil (I keep a bottle of it in my car just for this purpose), but it's probably still there right now, laughing at me and having millions of babies and making itself at home in my car.

P.S. I am using the term bugs to include all creepy crawlies such as spiders, ticks, mites, etc.  My hatred is not limited to just insects.

Here are some pics from the vet visit and our happy return home. Sunny was a trooper and she's very popular at the vet. And she lost a pound since her last weighing in April!

Friday, October 30, 2015

Halloween Costume Tip

Sunny and Rosy know what's the most important thing about Halloween - THE TREATS.

I've never been a fan of "sexy" Halloween costumes.  They often look ridiculous and uncomfortable.  And I'm all about comfort and what will let me eat as much as I want without a button or seam bursting.

My all-time favorite (and most comfortable) Halloween costume was when I dressed up as a Never Nude.  If you don't know what that is, Google "Arrested Development" "Tobias Funke" and "Never Nude."  I wore a Never Nude t-shirt (basically a regular white t-shirt with a Never Nude logo and motto that my friend got for me as a joke present) and cut-off denim shorts with sweatpants over them.  When I entered the party, I took off my coat and sweatpants.  This was during peak Arrested Development popularity and yet only one person at the party got what I was.  We were in a group chatting when he stopped talking and shouted out, "Are you a Never Nude?!  That's awesome!"

I hope that you all enjoy your Halloween, getting dressed up and going trick-or-treating or to parties, but remember the most important part of this holiday is to eat as much candy and treats as you can possibly stuff your face with.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Catch a Leaf on Your Tongue

The leaves from my maple trees are starting to change color and drop.  This is my favorite time of fall because the air is crisp, the foliage is beautiful, and there's nothing for me to do other than admire the change of seasons.  This will soon be followed by annoyance and rage at the massive amount of leaves that will fall and that I'll have to clean up and somehow get to my curb for the annual leaf vacuum by the county. 

I also love this time of the year because Sunny will often pick up a stray leaf on her tongue while we're out walking.  I can't believe I haven't managed to capture a photo of this!  But, every time I see it, I get distracted pointing and laughing at her and then by the time I remember to pull my phone out of my pocket (I love wearing coats in the fall - pockets!!), a breeze has carried the leaf away or she's slurped it and either dropped it or swallowed it.  One day, I promise you, I will get a photo of it! 

I mean look at this tongue.  It's always sticking out.  Of course things are going to get stuck on it!
I had some colored pens in my bag so I thought it would be fun to add a bit of color to the leaves.  They look a bit neon here because I always have to tweak my photos since the notebook's paper is slightly yellow.

Here's the maple tree in my front yard from this weekend.  It's just starting to change colors.  So pretty!  I have a love/hate relationship with my trees.
This was from last fall.  It looks pretty, but you can already see the leaves starting to pile up.
And some frolicking in the leaves last fall.  Both my pugs love running through the crunchy leaves, but Rosy especially loves it!
Ugh.  The leaves.  THE LEAVES.  So many.  I can't even.

Friday, October 2, 2015

Rain + Stubborn Pugs = Frowny Face

Ugh. Rain. So much rain. Such stubborn pugs. Bah!

This morning Sunny launched a poop strike. I expected it and thought I was prepared for it, but I'm no match for a stubborn pug.

After a few minutes outside, Rosy did her thang and so I let her back inside. But Sunny. Oh Sunny. We were outside for 30 minutes. 30 long minutes.

I was determined to outlast Sunny, to hold firm. But she won. I was already late to work and Sunny looked so pathetically sad with her head and tail hanging low. Plus she wouldn't move. At all. As soon as Sunny was inside, her tail curled up and she pranced about the house in victory. I'm sure she'll leave a consolation prize for me on the floor when I get back home.

Sigh.

I hope my neighbors didn't see my mini meltdown when I stomped my feet and shouted "JUST POO ALREADY!" But at least it inspired today's drawing. I forgot to draw shadows and actual ground but I didn't realize it until after I edited the photo, so *shrug*.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Ennui 2

 
Sometimes it hits suddenly - that feeling of wanting to curl up into a ball and do nothing as the rest of the world marches on. Even going to the basement to get more paper towels or sorting through the mail seems unfathomable.

Sometimes it vanishes as quickly as it arrived. Other times it lingers, weighing heavily on everything and requiring a Herculean effort to shake off.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Yay Friday!!!

It's Friiiiiddaaaaayyyy! TGIF! I say this as though I have big and exciting plans. You know what I have planned? I'm going to recaulk my bathroom. This will likely involve lots of cussing and a big mess that I'll have to pay someone to fix.

Being a grownup sucks sometimes. Being a homeowner grownup really sucks sometimes.

On that happy note, have a great weekend everyone!

Friday, September 4, 2015

Fountain of Youth

I always like to joke (and by joke, I mean say with a smile but deep down really really mean it) that if I ever found the Fountain of Youth I'd make sure Sunny & Rosy got some too.

Been thinking about how much older the girls look since I first got them. Sunny will be turning 11 and Rosy will be turning 6 in October. Why do they have to get old so quickly?! Stay young and live forever!

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Summer (with pugs)

Summer! I shake my first at your hot & humid gross weather & mosquitoes!

I have probably over two dozen mosquito bites on my legs. My legs. That's not even counting the ones I've gotten on my arms, my neck, my back, and my ear (Ear?! Who does that?!).  I don't want to spray myself each time I walk the dogs (that's at least 3x a day) and the natural alternatives don't work (my mosquitoes laugh at citronella, lavender, lemongrass, etc.), so now I'm covered in bug bites.

People tell me to just keep moving all the time when I'm outside, but that's easier said than done with an extremely stubborn, lazy, easily distracted senior pug. Sometimes she even sits in the middle of the sidewalk, the street, or neighbors' yards. So frustrating. But she's old, sweet, and had such a rough first few years before I adopted her, so I let her get away with it. I just smile at her cute face and scratch my millions of big bites.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

And They Called It Drumstick Love

"Hi. My name is Rosy and I'm a drumstick-aholic."

I don't know why Rosy is so obsessed with Sunny's drumstick, but it's her absolute favorite toy in the whole wide world. She loves it, adores it, treasures it. She loves both drumsticks, but tends to favor Sunny's left one. And Sunny, being a good sport and used to dealing with crazy puppies from her breeding past, lets Rosy play with it for a little bit until she gets so annoyed she nibbles on Rosy's neck roll like a corn cob. (Endless entertainment with these two!)

It's a love story for the ages.

Monday, August 31, 2015

Scarves

Now that we're approaching September, Sunny, Rosy, and I are really looking forward to the fall. Less bugs, cooler air, coats with pockets, comfort food, pumpkin everything, and holiday fun! But right now we're suffering the worst of both summer and fall - hot and humid weather, but with shorter days. Grrrrr.

Sunny and Rosy have been working all summer developing some nice and fluffy neck/face/shoulder rolls so that they have their built in scarves ready for the colder weather in the fall. See their glorious rolls/scarves?!

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Flashdance Pugs

She's a maniac, maniac on the floor! And she's dancing like she's never danced before!

Last night something wonderful happened. My order of dog costumes arrived. Yes, I've become that crazy dog lady. There were a bunch on sale and that's how I justified the purchase. But, the problem with pugs is they have the most difficult measurements to clothe (#crazydogladyproblems). They have thick necks and sausagey barrely bodies but thin legs and short length. So of course none of them fit. I took off their too tight hats and was amused at the look of their lil leg warmers. As a child of the 80s (whose parents were lax about restricting what I watched) my mind immediately jumped to Flashdance. And thus, today's drawing.

To be perfectly honest, drawing underwear (don't you dare use the P word, rhymes with shanties) kinda disturbed me. I almost didn't post this because it weirded me out a bit. Like the sexy teddy bears you see around Valentine's Day (barf). But I'm justifying this as a dance outfit and staying true to the movie's dance practice scene (after which she guzzled soda - ah the 80s).

And here are the photos of how our costume testing devolved into a Flashdance flashback.  
And a video.