Happy Thing Number Sixty

Can you believe I am at Happy Thing NUMBER SIXTY? This calls for a celebration.

Do I have something stuck in my TEETH?

YAY!

HAPPY THING #60: Nice Crispy Lettuce

Time To Think

Sometimes I just need to get away and think. It isn't that I am upset or that any of my family has displeased me in any way. No, it is completely the need for ME time.

When this happens, I feign the need to do bidness outside and then I find a nice spot and just sit. I sit and think. I sit and smell the crisp flower scented air. I savor the soft morning breeze or the cool afternoon wind. I just BE.

HAPPY THING #59: Me Time

I FORGOT to Put a TITLE on THIS Here Post. . . Monday Space-out

The weather returned to perfect yesterday. So while Mommy #2 and Auntie B were at Nikkei Matsuri in Japantown, Mommy #1 was left to entertain me. What better way than to take a walk to a park. We live near several parks, the smaller neighborhood ones allow dogs. 

Here Molly and I are enjoying the warm sun with a cooling breeze from the playground of a nearby park. Notice how shaggy Molly is in the photo? Shortly after this adventure she went to the groomers and came back A CHANGED DOG!

It's true. I growled at her because I did not recognize her.

HAPPY THING #58: Sunny days with cool breezes

TEE GEE EYE EFF!!!!

I am so happy FRIDAY is here. I don't have a lot of plans over the weekend - other than enjoy what should be a quiet house. Maybe I will wander to Japantown for the Nikkei Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festival). Lots of people bring their dogs to it and I hear the weather should be PUG-friendly.

This time of year is so full of activities. It almost seems like we actually had a Winter - we didn't :-(_  - because suddenly everyone is out and about.

What kind of weekend plans do you have?

Whatever you do, have a wonderful time doing it.

HAPPY THING #57: The Weekend

Anatomy of a TREAT . . . and Other Observations

What makes a good TREAT?

Well, for starters, it should be made of good stuff inside and out -

Chicken (Including Ground Chicken Bone), Turkey, Turkey Liver, Turkey Heart, Pumpkinseeds, Apples, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Ground Flaxseed, Montmorillonite Clay, Broccoli, Lettuce, Spinach, Dried Kelp, Apple Cider Vinegar, Parsley, Honey, Salmon Oil, Mixed Tocopherols, Olive Oil, Rosemary Extract, Blueberries, Alfalfa Sprouts, Persimmons, Inulin, Rosemary, Sage, Clove

THAT'S a lot of really really good stuff. Notice no preservatives or ingredients that cannot be pronounced!

Second, they should be portable so your human can take them EVERYWHERE because you never know when a TREAT OPPORTUNITY may arise.

Although they LOOK huge in this photo, they are small. Very small. Like ONE GULP small. But that is ONE MIGHTY TASTY gulp, I can tell you that. I figure if I look pathetic enough that I might get more than one per trick because they are gone in a flash. It normally wouldn't work because, as you know, my Mommy keeps me on a strict low cal diet so I can maintain my puggy waist. But here is the good news - these nuggets of tastiness are only 2 calories each! Is that perfect or what?

Finally, they should be TRICKWORTHY. Are these trickworthy? Y-E-S they are! Very very trickworthy. I call them 3 TRICKS worthy. That is almost the highest award I have ever given.

Okay, I admit I have something particular in mind - Nature's Variety Instinct RAWBOOST Minis.

Check them out next time you are at the PET FOOD store or, better yet, on CHEWY.COM. These are treats you feel good doing tricks for AND your human feels good about giving to you for said tricks . . . or good behavior. . . or looking cute. . . or just because.*

Which brings me to my thoughts for the day. Have you ever noticed how wonderful the wind smells? Sometimes I forget and go about my day in a routine haze. BUT yesterday it was quite breezy in our town and when my Mommy let me out to do my bidness, I could not HELP but notice just how delicious the air smelled. Not food delish - but LIFE delish. It was a cacophony of wonderful smells and I was outside a long long time just taking it all in. I saw Mommy look out the window and smile at me as I lay in a sunny spot with my demi-snout pointed up. It was so wonderful. Next time it is windy at your place, take the time to smell the wind. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

HAPPY THING #56: The Wind and all of its delicious smells

*NOTE: I was provided the treats free of charge from Chewy.com in return for an honest opinion. I tried the treats over the course of a week. I was not paid for the review, other than a sample of treats on which to base my opinion.

Pug Mug Fun

Found at Marshalls 

HAPPY THING #55: A FUN Mug









Now Hop like a BUNNY over to BlogPaws.com

She's Your MOTHER, After All!

Happy Earth Day 2014. 

I am happy we have made it THIS far despite all of the wear and tear we inflict on Mother Earth. But we shouldn't rest on our laurels, however small they are. Everyday should be Earth Day in honor of this great planet on which we live and thrive. Every day we all need to REDUCE (and not just our waistlines), REUSE (I love hand-me-downs), and RECYCLE ( or better yet, limit the amount of packaging we buy with our goods. Less to recycle.)

Recycle

At our house we try so hard to adhere to all of these rules. It is hard, though, because we were born into a consumer society and CONSUME we do. So we have too much stuff - like my BIN of toys and CLOSET of clothes I seldom wear. But instead of throwing out the old stuff, we look for ways to recycle them - donate to charity, hold garage sales, and rework into something new (like a old wagon into a planter).

In this DROUGHT year, it is easy to keep water conservation in the forefront of our thoughts. But this is NOT the way it should be. We should ALWAYS be concerned with how much water we are using. If it is more than we need, we are WASTING it. That is just not right.So we try to trim usage down to a minimum needed for health and happiness. I PUGSONALLY volunteered to STOP ALL BATHS in an effort to conserve water resources. Of course, this was met with resounding NOs and P.U.s. So I guess I will still be enduring a bath now and again - just not once a week or anything,

We have not ONE but TWO compost bins. All of our food scraps go in there and since my Mommys are vegheads, that means it is all veggie waste anyhow. When the scraps breakdown nice and neat (the worms LOVE our bins and they are a major reason the resulting soil is so rich), Auntie T spreads it around the yard to make our flowers and vegetable garden very happy. We have a family of 6 humans, 2 dogs, 1 cat and 2 birds and yet we use the smallest waste bin offered by the garbage company. We do our best to keep waste to a minimum.

Finally, we try to limit our fuel consumption by taking the train or other public transportation when we can. My Mommy #2 spends over 3 hours a day commuting to and from her job because she takes the train and shuttle to and from work. She used to take light rail to the train station but that made her daily commute even longer so it made no sense. But as gas prices sky rocket (up over $0.80 in the past month) she may return to her VTA to train pattern to cut back. And when at home, we try to make sure only the necessary electricity is used. Lights are limited, the heater is set low, air conditioning high or off, and appliances are unplugged when not in use.

If EVERYONE contributes to change, even just a little, it can make a BIG difference in how Mother Earth survives. Let's make EVERY DAY EARTH DAY and help her THRIVE.

Happy Thing #54: Helping Mother Earth LIVE

Noodles - The PEEVED PUG

The EASTER BUNNY made his opinion of my request LOUD AND CLEAR

Note: There are CAT toys and treats as well

So THAT means all offers are OFF the table and I may behave as I SEE FIT! Look out household!!!

Noodles, the PEEVED PUG

HAPPY THING # 53:
Human Gatherings (there is no END to the amount of FOODABLES dropped!!!!)

An Open Letter to the Easter Bunny

This is our SHARED haul from last year

Dear Mr. Bunny (or Ms. Bunny, if that is the case);

I just want you to know that I love and respect you. And I hope this year the weather is kind to you so you can get your job done quickly and efficiently.

While we are on the topic of your job, can I ask a small favor? Can I have MY OWN Easter Basket this year - like I used to pre-Molly? I am not really being selfish or anything. It is just that I now share my beds (granted, I have more than one); and I share all of my toys (okay. even though most are the ones I no longer care about); and my food (treats and kibble. . .sigh). Isn't it enough? Can't I have one thing that is MINE, Property of Noodles the Pug?

I promise I will do my best to achieve the following

• quit air-licking for twenty minutes at a time.
• quit nipping at the ankles of someone who makes me do something I don't want to do
• quit charging after someone who stops me from doing something I want to do
• quit behaving like a land shark around Molly's food bowl. It is HER food
• quit rubbing my eye goop on unsuspecting Mommys

Whew! That is a long list. This is about as much as I can handle, Mr. (or Ms.) Easter Bunny. But I promise if I have a basket of GOODIES just for me, that I will do my best to adhere to it.

Your DEVOTED fan,

Noodles the Pug

HAPPY THING #52: EASTER!!!!!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYPUGGY!!!!!

Sittin' Pretty

I love being a model. I will sit and pose and act anyway I need to for the camera BECAUSE the camera means TREATS - and lots of them.

Here are some of my most recent PHOTO SESSIONS:

Me and my Sisteroids. This took a lot of PATIENCE!

This was at the dog park. It is one of my best.

SEE! I'll do almost anything for a treat.

HAPPY THING #51: Sitting for Pictures which EQUALS Treats!

Bunny Blog Hoppin' Wednesday

HERE COMES NOODLES
COTTONTAIL. . .





















Today is Blog Hop Wednesday. Join me in BUNNY hopping around the Blogosphere.

HAPPY THING #50: Blog Hopping on Wednesdays because I meet so many new FURiends that way.

Chit Chat

HI Noodles, how're you doing today?

That's how Mommy always starts our conversations. And then she waits for me to answer her. . . and answer her honestly. Because my Mommy is like that. When she asks how you are, she really really wants to know.

So tell me about your day, did you play with Molly or just sleep the day away?

This is the follow up to how I am. And again, she expects an answer to the question. So I tell her about snoozing until 10am and then tossing a few toys around with Molly. Then we play a vicious game of Bitey Face, I tell her, and then we nap until you get home.

Doesn't sound like too much fun, she tells me. . . ah, but it IS Mommy, I tell her back.

What would you like for dinner today?

This always gets my ears bouncing, my step steppin' and my tail/butt wagging. Did you just say FOOD, I ask? Why I would like a bowl of delicious kibble, please. And if you still have those frozen haricots verte I would like those as well. Maybe cut them a little smaller so I can savor them longer.

Noodles, are you my GOOD girl?

I wouldn't have it any other way, Mommy. Not for the world.

HAPPY THING #49: Chit Chatting with my Mommys

Like a Colorful Carpet

I did a lot of this over the weekend. Sitting and waiting for Mommys. They were out and about doing their things while I waited and waited.

When Mommy #2 came home she smelled faintly of flowers - wildflowers. She had gone to the Sunol Wildflower Festival and hiked around trying the identify the myriad wildflowers everywhere. She said it was such a wonderful day and the weather was perfect. She had thought of bringing me but did not because she thought it might be too warm for me. She also mentioned some scary things like ticks, snakes and tarantulas. I suspect they scare her more than they scare me.

Mommy's LAME photo of  SOME flower

As usual, Mommy did not take her camera. She says it takes lousy photos and besides, she was meeting Auntie B and SHE takes wonderful photos. As LUCK (??) would have it, Mommy and Auntie B never actually FOUND each other although they both spent the majority of their time looking and waiting. So Mommy took a small hike with a group of strollers and family with small kids. She didn't think it would matter, at the time. The people, although friendly, were not really interested in listening to the docent speak about the flora in the surrounding meadows. In fact, they were only excited to SIT in the meadows and have their family photos taken while surrounded by said wildflowers (and ticks, I might add). And she cannot tell you how many fathers let their wee ones PICK the flowers. . . all in all, there were a lot of starts and stops for waiting on toddlers and not a lot of wildflower hunting. Of course, one did not really need to hunt them at all for the flowers carpeted the hillsides so completely and colorfully. It was halfway up the hill when Mommy realized she wished she had a camera. So she took the first flower picture on this page with her phone - which was no good for anything else since there is no phone reception in the park.

 Auntie B's photos, shared on the left, are very different from Mommy's. She used a REAL camera with big lenses. The colors are so rich and it almost seems like you can reach out and pick the flowers. And Auntie B took off on a hike by herself where she found a lot more flowers than Mommy did. That was fortunate.

Finally after NOT finding Auntie B after 3 hours of looking, Mommy headed back to our abode.

When she got home, she spent a lot of time with me cuddling and snuggling. She made up for abandoning me for half the day. And the B-A-T-H? Yes, both Molly and I got one which actually made me feel a lot better than I thought it would. And the pawdicure made walking a lot quieter.

Sunday I spent ALL DAY out in the back yard SUPERVISING Auntie T doing yardwork. Someone needs to let her know how far back to trim the bushes! The weather was nice and warm but there was also a cooling breeze that kept it all so FINE.

HAPPY THING #49: Wildflowers

T.G.I.F.

It's FRIDAY!!!! Whew! I thought the day would never get here. You DO know what Friday means, right?
It means tomorrow the mommys are home and I get lots of extra CUDDLES and ATTENTION. I heard a rumor that I will also be getting a B-A-T-H; but that is another worry for another time.

Do you have any big plans for the WEEKEND? I plan to

1. Look for Butterflies
2. Sit in the morning sun
3. Watch my Mommy try to knit with me on her lap
4. Smell the yard
5. Feel the breeze ruffle my fur
6. Go to the Dog Park
7. Greet people at the door

OMP! The list goes on and on. Have a great weekend EVERYPUGGY!

"Talking" to my FURiends in the 'hood

HAPPY THING #48: TGIF - what a great day!

Champion Captions

We had some good captions come in yesterday. Thank you to all who participated. I promised to post them so here goes -

1. Did you grab the beach chairs and blanket?

Lily & Edward

2. I'm too sexy fur my SHADES

Frankie Furter and Ernie

3. I need a hand from you.

Venus Newby

4. We are going where with who?

Stella Rose Long

 5. Does my nose need more sunscreen?

                                          or

                                              Do these sunglasses make me look fat?

                                          Daisy and Scooter Pugman

                                          6. Noodles, your practicing looking good for those Photo Bombing 

                                           The Mad Scots

                                           7. These shades aren't doing any good on my forehead, Mom!

                                           Andrea @ This Pug Life

                                          8. Okay I wore these on my head. Treats?

                                           Piranha Banana

AND PHOTO #2

1. Did you grab the beach chairs and blanket?

Lily & Edward 

Blogmaster: I thought it worked for both

2. Sniff Sniff... CAUGHT YOU... YOU 

have been eating from MY bowl..AGAIN.

Frankie Furter and Ernie

               3. Okay, give me a little space!

                              Venus Newby

                           4. . . .and she said this...and she said that...and she said...

                           Stella Rose Long

    5. What did you eat?

  Piranha Banana

HAPPY THING #47: Fresh Bananas in my FOOD BOWL 

Caption, Oh Caption. . .

WRITE A CAPTION FOR ME. . . . . . . .

WRITE A CAPTION FOR ME . . .

I just couldn't decide on how to caption these pics. Do you think you can do better? Give it a shot. Once you start, it is hard to stop.

I will post the cations tomorrow.

HAPPY THING #46: Games. Any games. . . even caption games.

While we are at it, how about a HOP?    www.blogpaws.com

Cheesy Gold

It was a GLORIOUS Sunday in Cali. Auntie T was out in the yard making it look respectable even though the DROUGHT has nearly killed off the grass and some of the less-hardy plants. Molly was wandering around looking for something. . . TROUBLE, I think. Me? I was sitting in the shade SUPERVISING as only a PUG can do.

Suddenly, something FLASHED by my periphery. . . something smallish and golden . . . something. . . some. . thing. . . EDIBLE! Cousin E had walked out side with a bag of GOLDFISH and was tossing a couple Molly's way. Well, I tell you, my reclining was OVER. There was FOOD to be had and I was gonna HAVE it.

I sat there looking prime and proper. . . that lasted half a second. Then I whined a little - just for attention. That didn't work. So I slyly started going through my repertoire of TRICKS hoping to find a FISH in my mouth. IT WORKED!! All it took was a sit-UP and a small stand and the fish was MINE.

Which brings me not so ceremoniously to HAPPY THING # 45 -

GOLDFISH and not the kind that swim in ponds. . . although they are pretty nice too. . . but not to eat. . . I would NEVER do that. . .

Full Circle of Weather - April Showers to Sun

We had a really really rainy week all last week. Some areas saw flooding (not mine) and the mountains behind our hills even had a smattering of snow for about half a day. It was weather I expected in FEBRUARY not APRIL!

We need the rain, so better later than not at all. So we headed for the weekend with no real plans because we didn't know if they'd be rained out or not.

Fooled us. It was sweet smelling (cleaned from the rain) and sunny ALL WEEKEND. It felt good just to get outside. This week the weatherLADY said we will have sun all week.

Lovin' the Cali LIFE!!

HAPPY THING #44: The NEED for SHADES to protect my

eyes from the SUN

Friday Bonus Track

Photo taken at Auntie B's Boot Camp

My ASSISTANT has been so busy this week she totally FAILED on my post for yesterday. I was a little upset and threatened to post a UNHAPPY THING instead of my usual HAPPY THING. But she explained the situation and I totally understood. Instead of complaining any more, I laid my head on her knee and went to sleep. She seemed to calm down as a result.

Sometimes I have to take a moment to calm down my assistant like that. . . it is my talent.

Anyhow, as you all know, I have been lucky enough to attend Auntie B's Boot Camp a number of times. About as many times as I have years, I think. It is ironic that my attendance always coincides with my Mommys going out of town. Hmmmm. I never thought about that. I must ask them if this is a coincidence or not.

At Auntie B's Boot Camp, she keeps me very very busy with a lot of walks and yard time. And I am not talking about short little around the block walks. No siree! I am talking about HOURS and MILES of walks. It strains my little puggy PAWS but I have to admit I LOVE THOSE WALKS.

Auntie B's Boot Camp also features an exercise course that I thoroughly enjoy. She calls it "THE STAIRS" but I know better than that. We have stairs at my house but just one set. She has 2 sets and a LANDING. OMP can I get going on those. It is quite the work-out. I through in a little crazy barking to exercise my lungs as well. Aerobic health is so important.

When it is time to lay low, Auntie B's yard has some world class SHADE. I find a sliver and park my PUG BOTTOM. There I wind down from the morning's activities and gear up for the afternoon. I just love it there. I am so happy when my Mommys return - but I admit, I am always a little disappointed to leave Auntie B's Boot Camp.

Photo by Auntie B

- I have TWO HAPPY THINGS today -

               Happy Thing #42: Stairs

 Happy Thing #43: Sliver of Shade

Wordless Wednesday - It's a Happy Thing

HAPPY THING #41: Riding in the BACK Seat

Hop Along With Me