Working the Camera

HAPPY THING #39: Being a Supermodel

The Awesomeness of a Pug Hug

Can you just FEEL the LOVE?

What is it about a HUG that makes everything BAD go away? I don't think it is the closeness because then a LEAN would be just as satisfying. I don't think it is the empathy emitted with a hug because then a simple I AM SORRY would suffice. No, it isn't any of these things because a HUG is an ENTITY unto itself. It is without a doubt a very HAPPY thing to have in your repertoire.

When Mommy (either one) is feeling down, I often walk over to her, look at her with my BIG liquidy eyes, and ask her what is wrong. Then I jump on her lap and give her the BIGGEST PUG HUG I can muster. Before you know it, she is smiling and has forgotten what got her down.

That is power!

Just the term - PUG HUG - gives you that all over warm feeling, huh? But I imagine a DOXIE HUG, GSD HUG, or even a CHIWEENIE HUG would be just as effective and sweet.

Try it at home for yourselves. I think you will find that adding a H-U-G to your litany of treat-worthy tricks will make you a very popular pet.

HAPPY THING #38: A HUG

SPRING is Showering Us With Affection. . . or is it AFfecTAtion?

As is normal for SPRINGTIME here, it started raining. And raining. AND RAINING. Apparently we have tapped into some RIVER and should have rain off and on through next week.

I am not complaining. We need it here in PARCHED CALI. And besides, April Showers Bring May Flowers.

I am waiting for the FLOWERS!!!

HAPPY THING #37: Spring Flowers

The Silent Treatment

I.E. Wordless Wednesday

HAPPY THING #36: The Door to INSIDE

Get The Map Out - I am Planning a Road Trip

Springtime makes me want to wander. The weather is the best - aside from the occasional rain - for getting out and seeing what this great state (or any state, for that matter) has to offer. So far, I have wandered as far as Yuba City (where I was born) to the north, Lake Tahoe to the northeast, and Reno NEVADA a whole 'nother state. There are a lot more places I want to go. . . such as Redding and Mendocino. Maybe some wine tasting in Sonoma or Napa? And I could even enjoy a weekend at the beach - I love the feel of sand on my paws. I am inspired in Spring. . . I just don't want to stay home.

How about you? Are there places you like to go and people you like to visit? If you have any NORCAL recommendations, I would love to hear them.

Happy TRAILS to YOU. . .

HAPPY THING #35: Roadtrips

The Pitcher Throws Another - FUR BALL!

My name is SUNSHINE THE CAT and I am a WORLD Class pitcher of FUR balls. Yes, no matter the conditions, I can pitch a fur ball and make you reel with revulsion. There is no pattern to this skill. I simply sneak up on everyone by depositing it right where you least expect it - and usually where you will have bare feet to step in it.

SOMEONE in this household does not like my skill and is taking steps to do away with the product of my hours of licking my fur. Introduced into the daily routine as a TREAT are these little insidious nuggets of goodness

If I had known in advance that I would so FALL IN LOVE and therefore put my career as a FB Pitcher in jeopardy, I would never have eaten that first
Greenies Feline SmartBites Hairball Control Chicken Flavor Cat Treats

And FURiends - I didn't stop with just ONE or just this kind. Oh no. . . I found myself JUMPING for the opportunity to have JUST ONE NIBBLE of

Greenies Feline SmartBites Healthy Skin & Coat Chicken Flavor Cat Treats

Maybe it's the SMALL GREEN NUGGET made of Chicken meat, natural fat and Brewers rice that makes it so tasty and unforgetable. . . Maybe it is the fact that each GREENIES SMARTBITES contains

 

• Omega-3 Fatty Acids and flaxseeds contribute to healthy skin and fur
• Vitamin A helps promote the health of eyes
• Added chicken protein ensures a strong metabolism
• Preserved naturally, using tocopherols to maintain freshness

All I know is I am HOPELESSLY hooked on these treats and my days of pitching FUR BALLS are numbered.

Chewy.com - WHY?????

HAPPY THING #34: Treats that are GOOD for you

Spring Time . . . Swing Time!

SPRINGTIME, and the nicer weather that accompanies it, means more time at the Dog Park and the People Park. It really doesn't matter which one we go to since we end up in the Little Persons playground. I really love to go there, ride the merry-go-round, and take an exciting ride down the slide. One of my most favorite things to do, though, is to ride the SWINGS.

I am not sure what is so beguiling about the swing. Maybe it is the subtle feeling of weightlessness that you get? Or maybe it is just the cooling breeze that wafts by you as you go back and forth. I am simply not sure and not about to analyze it more than that. I simply LOVE TO SWING.

Have a grrrrrrrrrrrrrreat weekend EveryPUGGY! And keep swinging.

HAPPY THING #33: The Swing, To Swing, Swinging!!!

Hey Noodles. . . Would You Like To. . .

Peek-a-BOO

Mommy #2 worked from home yesterday. Sometimes when she works from home it DOES NOT equal a snuggle and get spoiled day. No, sometimes she is totally busy and unavailable to me; except for the occasional scratch behind the velvety ears. This was the kind of WORK FROM HOME day that yesterday was.

Sometime in the afternoon, Mommy stretched and rubbed her eyes. She said she was tired of working so hard and needed a break. So she LEFT the office and started wandering around the house - bending and stretching every once in a while. She put laundry in the dryer after removing the already dry laundry. . . she added some dishes to the dishwasher and turned it on. . . she made the bed . . .

All of a sudden she grabs my HARNESS AND LEASH and asks me if I wanna go on a WALK! Excuse me, I said. . . head tilting ever so slightly to the left . . . did you say what I THINK you said? "Come on, Noodles," Mommy said. "Do you want to go on a walk or not?"

I practically FELL ALL OVER myself rushing to where she stood!

 [Do I want to go on a walk????? What a silly question! OF COURSE I wanna go on a walk. It is wonderful outside - the sun is shining but it isn't hot! The flowers are in bloom EVERYWHERE and the air smells so sweet it gives me a toothache! Do I wanna go on a WALK?]

Um, sure, I cool-ly said. I could do a walk.

HAPPY THING #32: Walks

Wordless Wednesday

HAPPY THING #32: Lazy Sundays

Nothing beats a nice sunny day when all of the family is home.

And remember - Wednesday is Blog Hop Day

A Dream and a Wish and a Mouse

The MAN and the MOUSE

I don't know if you are aware of this, but my family and I are a bunch of Disney NUTS. It is true. You may not realize it at first - but take a look at the flatware. . . or the holiday dishes. . . the yard decorations. It will suddenly become apparent that we are NUTSO about M-I-C-K-E-Y. In fact, Molly has a Mickey Mouse tshirt that she wears when it is cold.

I know D'land (as we IN THE KNOW refer to it) does not allow DOGS and PUGS - an oversight I am willing to forgive. I live vicariously through my Mommys - imagining myself among the crowds as I gaze longingly at their pictures and videos.

What I like most about Disneyland is the way it makes everyone who enters feel like a kid again. My Mommy #2 NEVER eats cotton candy and Dole pineapple whip - but she does at D'land. And Mommy #1 cannot pass by a churro stand without plopping down the bucks for one. They just taste better there, she says. And those turkey legs that they sell there??????? Well, if SOMEONE would bring me back a souvenir from the park, that is the one I would want. 

Instead THIS is what I got:

Oy!!

Hats not withstanding, I gotta pick Disneyland as one of the HAPPIEST things ON EARTH.

HAPPY THING #31: Disney

Toss Me a Guinness, I NEED It!

 Happy St. Paddy's Day

to all you 

Irish and Irish-for-a-Day

I admit to doing a lot of foolish things in the name of ART and NEWS. Posing in stupid costumes, doing a daring thing or two. I do it because I am a PUG. I do it because I want to be liked. Mostly, I do it for TREATS!

We had a pretty fun weekend. Well, most of the weekend, Friday night to Saturday night, was spent cleaning and prepping for Sunday. On Sunday, Mommy #1 put on a birthday party for one of her friends. They had a Mad Hatter's Tea Party and that meant a lot of cakes and treats all over the place. 

Clean up with the most fun because I had FLOOR duty. I shuffled from room to room cleaning up any crumbs that had fallen on the floor. YUM!!! I had so much "fun" that I could barely fit in my dinner. But I did.

After everyone had left, all the party stuff put away, and all the dishes were done, My Mommys and I snuggled up on the couch to watch tv. I say watch because we all kinda did more snoozing than watching.

Happy Thing #30: Parties

TWICE Around the BLOCK, Please

This picture is totally unrelated to anything I have to say in today's post

I am struggling today to write anything of interest. Well, to write anything, really. It isn't that I have nothing to say - I am having trouble narrowing it all down and making it interesting to a wide and varied audience.

So to alleviate this conundrum, I am going to LIST all of the HAPPY THINGS to date - just so we know where we are at. Here goes

1. FURiends; 2. Dog Park; 3.Cherry Blossoms; 4. Favorite Bed; 5. Sisters; 6. Brothers; 7. Olympics; 8. Car rides; 9. Noodles; 10. Valentines Day; 11. Dinner Bowl; 12. Cali Weather; 13. 2-Man Bobsled; 14. Blankie; 15 Games; 16. Chewy.com Treats; 17. Water; 18. Sliver of Sunlight; 19. Shopping; 20. Green Grass; 21. Hockey; 22. Frozen Green Beans; 23. Fat Tuesday; 24. My leash and harness; 25. My Car; 26. Hugs; 27. Toys; 28. My Smile

WOOOOOOO! That is a lot of Happy Things! Just 71 more to go. . . . .

ANYhoooo - the weather has been exceptional here in CA for the past week. It is what we natives like to call "BIKE RIDING WEATHER." With good reason - it is perfect for going for a spin on the ol' two-wheeler. I love love love going for a bike ride. My Mommy #2 loads me into the trailer and off we go. It is the best way to see things far from home - next to a car ride.

And right now it is not too hot that I get overheated.That makes it even better. Eventually Mommy #2 wants to invest in a STURDY basket at the front of the bike. That way it will be easier to maneuver AND we will be able to talk to each other as we ride. Doesn't that sound like fun?

HAPPY THING #29: Bike Rides

Throwback Thursday By Virtue of NO NEW Photos!!!

This fire is so warm!

There is a noticeable lack of new photos in my pictures files. In fact, there IS NOT ONE that I have not used at least once (that happens when you have written more than 900 posts).

So by default we are participating in THROWBACK THURSDAY. I don't usually throwback ANYTHING but will make an exception THIS TIME!

This photo is of me when I was not quite 1 years old. My mommys and I went camping (Mommy #1 and I for the first time) up at Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe. It was beautiful and cold! Despite it being June, there was still snow in spots. It was sooooo cold at night that all THREE of us were snuggled together under the covers. And we all had sweaters, socks and hats on AS WE SLEPT. But it was still a lot of fun and I got to taste roasted MARSHMALLOW for the first time. We plan to go again someday when the time is right. Getting reservations can be hard. . .

HAPPY THING #29: Camping

Even if you just camp in your backyard it is a lot of fun!!

Wordless Wednesday and Going to a Blog Hop

HAPPY THING #28: a Smile

Join me in a hop

Gimme More and Make Them Sturdy

What Keeps You Happy When You Are SAD?  ------------------------> TOYS

What Makes Your Personal Space More YOU? ------------------------>  TOYS

WHAT Do We All Want More Of? ------------------------------------->  TOYS

I guess you can tell I like my TOYS. I have a lot, too. I get them for holidays and birthdays. I get them for special occasions and for being a super PUG. Sometimes I just get them because they are on sale. And I am very very careful with my toys. I seldom rip them up or disembowel them. When my Mommys are gone during the day, the toys come out. Molly and I have been known to play "catch" with them. More often than not we play Tug-o-War with them. I admit, I am a wuss and most of the time Molly ends up with the toy.

Happy Thing #27: TOYS

Shared, spared, or special - you can't go wrong with toys

Lost An Hour and Can't Find It - Sad Face

HUG

I lost a whole hour over the weekend and I simply cannot find it. Do you know what I mean? I went to bed, set my alarm, and when I got up - I WAS AN HOUR LATE!!!! How does that happen? How does someone lose an hour?

I looked for it all day which was hard because for some reason I was more tired and unfocused than usual. It was so weird. After about SEVENTY million attempts to find it, I finally gave up. And that simply IS NOT like me at all. I am a P-U-G! I am tenacious! But this one simply got the better of me and that was despite the frequent naps I took.

Molly, noticing my distress, walked over to me sometime in the early evening.
"What's the matter, Noodles?" She chirped in her sweet way.
 "Ah, nuthin'", I snarled. "I simply lost an hour and can't find it. Have you seen it anywhere?"
"Well, no. . . ," she said looking vacantly off into the distance. "I am not even sure WHAT you are talking about. But I will give you a HUG. That might help."

So she did. . . and it made me feel better, as only HUGS can do.

But at the end of the day, I was still missing my HOUR.

So if you find my HOUR, please let me know where it is and I will go pick it up. I really really need it back.

HAPPY THING #26: A HUG

Because when one is perplexed a hug makes it better

I (HEART) a Car Called Pugsley

My Mommys have the BEST car ever. It isn't the spiffiest looking anymore and it is getting pretty old - and maybe it is NOT as reliable as it once was. But I LOVE IT. We go to Tahoe in it . . . to the dog park in it . . . to PetsMart in it . . . simply EVERYWHERE in it.

It is a 2001 Honda CRV and it kinda look like this











Mommy#1 started called the car Pugsley years ago because it reminded her of a PUG. It kinda does, when you really use your imagination. The gold almost looks FAWN, like my fur. The "fawn" tire cover kinda looks like a curled tail. And the BLACK side mirrors look a lot like my soft velvety BLACK lil' ears. The real difference is the front. I have ZERO snout and Pugsley has  a small one. Maybe Pugsley the car looks more like a PUGGLE?

It perfectly fits my crate for long trips. One time Mommy #2 was able to fit a weeks worth of clothes, food and some supplies, 2 bicycles, AND my crate into the backseat and trunk area. Can you believe it?

I know someday real soon Pugsley will go over the BRIDGE to Car Heaven. I accept that. In the meantime, I look forward to many more adventures aboard our CAR.

HAPPY THING #25: My family CAR

and all the good times we have had with it

Wordless Wednesday Went Missing and Now It's Thursday

Had SOMEONE remembered Wordless Wednesday, this is what I would have posted ---->

Almost Yin Yang

And NOW for something COMPLETELY different - - - - - >

Leash and Harness

So MANY Kinds

Leash and Harness

ONE for each mind

Leash and Harness

Promises that are MET

Leash and Harness

Unless it's the VET

HAPPY THING #24:  My Leash and Harness because they usually mean I am going on an ADVENTURE.

Fat. . .Fatty. . .McFat. . . TUESDAY

    

Today I am CELEBRATING FAT!!!

Happy FAT Tuesday.

I am all about BODY awareness and the danger of labels. I hate hate HATE it when the first thing someHUMAN says is "Your DOG is FAT." First of all. . . I am a PUG and that is SLIGHTLY different than a DOG. Second, I am NOT FAT. I am just the right size for my pugginess. And you gotta admit. . . I am

pretty CUTE, too.

But I digress. I try not to worry too much when HUMANS point out my weight, lack of snout, or large liquidy eyes. These traits are all what goes into making me ME and that is different from YOU. And you are fine the way YOU are because those are the traits that make you YOU. And - you KNOW I LOVE YOU!

So make FAT TUESDAY a day to celebrate all those things that make you YOU. . .

HAPPY THING #23: Fat Tuesday and all the GOOD things it stands for. Not least of which is MARDI GRAS and the excuse to throw BEADS.

Greeny Goodness

I loves loves LOVES GREEN BEANS. Have you tasted them at all? O.M.P!! I cannot get enough of them - maybe because I do not often get them. First of all, they have a pretty short growing season. Second of all . . . they simply do not last long.

SO Mommy #2 was rummaging around in the freezer the other day looking for something to make for dinner. She came across some green beans that she had forgotten about. They looked good - not too old or frost-bitten - so she pulled them out. She chopped them in half and added them to my kibble.

O.M.P.!!! That was the best ever dinner and the FROZEN green beans, well they were simply delectable.
If you haven't tried frozen green beans, you owe it to yourself to try them!!

That is my Happy Thing for today - GREEN BEANS