Cuddle Time

Getting in all the cuddles I can before Mommy takes me to her friend's house.

Auntie B is unable to entertain me this time so Mommy's OTHER friend, Auntie K said she would.

If you recall me talking about my FURiend who I have never met, Cheerio, well this is his HUMOM. When they moved back to CALI from India, they had to leave Cheerio behind (with his grandparents) as he had kidney stones. They miss him a lot and asked that they be considered when we need pug sitting. Mommy said of course. I met them before Halloween and really really really liked them a lot. I MIGHT even have more fun than MY MOMMYS!

I'll let you know when I get back home.

Until then,

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Why Does This Always Happen On The Holidays?

This was a weekend with a lot going on. My aunties and cousins were spending a lot of time doing laundry and collecting FOOD. I thought that was a little weird but HEY! They're HUMAN, after all. They are ALWAYS doing something I don't understand.

Then they pulled these out of the SHED

Now I KNEW something was afoot. They all stuffed these things FULL of clothes and put the FOOD in boxes and ice chests.

Saturday Auntie T drove off with her car loaded down - Sunday Auntie B and the cousins went to the AIRPORT and took off in a plane.

That leaves Mommys #1 and #2 here with Molly, Me, Sunshine and the birds. Normally I would be fine with it but. . . . a whole week with just the Mommys and us!!! Heaven!!!!

Then this happened

Cousin E's BF took a box of Molly's stuff to his house - including the POOCHIE BELLS (Molly is freaking out with out those bells to ring when she has to pee)!

THEN Mommy #2 started washing all of my bedding, including my crate pad.

THEN THIS HAPPENED

We had baths

Sunshine is All Like. . . I'm THE Cat in the House

Taken last week when it rained

Most of the time I like Sunshine the Cat. She is a good cuddle companion - sometimes. She is not obtrusive - usually. And she -mostly- does not INTRUDE on my TREATS.

Well that changed this month when SHE received the monthly REVIEW package from Chewy.com. You all KNOW how much I love the TREATS Chewy.com sends to me. And I share with Molly WITHOUT complaint (sorta). But due to some WEIGHT FLUCTUATIONS and the approaching holidays, Mommy convinced me to ALLOW Sunshine to review this month's treat. There were some AWESOME Cat selections: Natural Balance Perfect Bites; Johnny Cat Litter Box Liners (NOT edible);Orijen Original; and Purina Pro Plan True Nature Cat Treats. Admit it! Those are some wonderful choices.

Sunshine chose Orijen Original Cat treats as she knows that Orijen is a great company (from Canada) that really cares for pets and the environment. She reminded me that long ago she actually tried and reviewed their CAT FOOD. I had forgotten. She also bragged that Orijen only uses locally grown and captured food sources which makes their CARBON FOOTPRINT very low AND their control over quality HIGH. I can't argue with that logic. . . I just can't. If you would like more information about the company, and I highly encourage you to do so, CLICK HERE

Orijen treats are "Biologically appropriate" and in the case of FELINES, this means high in proteins. . . MEATS. Not pea protein. . . not other vegetable proteins. . . not peanut butter. . . REAL MEAT and REAL FISH is where the protein for Orijen food and treats comes from. Because Sunshine prefers Chicken to Fish, we chose the chicken treats. NOTE - I DID NOT say Flavored treats. That's because the flavor in these treats is from the MEAT AND FISH and not a flavor additive.

Orijen Original Cat treats are 100 PERCENT meat which is freeze dried. Period. No preservatives. . . no fillers. . . just high quality locally raised CHICKEN. 

Most importantly, how does Sunshine the Cat like Orijen Original treats? Well, let her tell you in her own words:

"I insist that from now on THIS CAT will no longer consider Orijen Original Cat treats a -TREAT! Instead, I decree that a few delicious pieces of freeze dried chicken be added to my meal EVERY TIME as an integral part of my meal."

She talks all snooty like that, you know.

So in summation, this is how Sunshine scored Orijen Original Cat treats:

• Flavor - Four dainty cat paws
• Appearance - Four dainty cat paws
• Nutrition - Four dainty cat paws
• Not having to SHARE with Pug and Dog - EIGHT dainty cat paws

Do yourself a favor - if you, the DOG of the house has a CAT also sharing space, do not. . . I repeat DO NOT let them know about Orijen Original Cat treats. They will only LORD it over you like, FOREVER. 

* We received (and very swiftly, I might add) one package of Orijen Original free of charge for the sole purpose of trying the product and reviewing it. We were not not have we ever been paid for our opinions. 

Could I Be Turning Frutarian?

fruit·ar·i·an

/ˌfro͞oˈterēən/ 

noun

1. a person who eats only fruit.

So lately I have been spending a lot of time in the yard. Even when it has been raining. (Yes, we have gotten some welcomed rain lately. I think El Nino has finally arrived.)

I wander here and there checking out the pee mail and smelling the air for news of the 'hood. It is my ME time. . . . my ALONE time. . . . my SNEAK FRUIT time. I have to confess, I LOVE FRUIT. And our yard is usually so BOUNTIFUL. But this year, the fourth year of the drought, our garden output was dismal. We had very few apricots and they were tasteless. We had no plums (the tree dried) and very few strawberries after Spring. The APPLE tree has fruit but it is small and grainy which the HUMANS do not care for. So they have been left on the tree to fall off.

FALL OFF????? Yes, that's right - fall off - and into my waiting MAW. OMP! It is an apple bonanza out there. I might be exaggerating a little since I already let you know there weren't too many. But even what grew was a lot of apples for this little PUG.

SO here's how it goes: I beg and beg to go out as if my bladder was bursting. Of course Mommys let me out because they don't want to clean up a pee mess. That is when I make my way to the tree and hide among the low branches so I cannot be seen. It is there that the yummiest apples fall. 

Heaven!

I hear Mommy calling me. . .  and calling me. . . and  calling me. . . I just choose to ignore her because I am in APPLE HEAVEN! I simply cannot get enough of them. I checked the tree the other day (easy to do as now the leaves are falling) and there are not too many apples left to fall. I best enjoy them while they last.

I was wandering the other side of the yard after the big wind hit (earlier this week we had winds so big they knocked our basketball net over onto Auntie T's sorta new car. She was not too happy, I can tell you) and under the MAGNOLIA tree leaves was something interesting, bright orange and globe shaped. It wasn't an ORANGE, I knew that. I like oranges to, by the way. It was kinda shiny and different. So I sniffed it and rolled it around with my nose. 

The most heavenly aroma wafted up to me. . . it was HONEY SWEET smelling but with a tartness to it. I grabbed it in my jaw to carry it to cleaner more open space. Just then I heard Mommy yelling for me (indicating this was not the first call) so I thought I had better answer. I took a chance hoping she would not be looking too closely at me and ran to the house with my prize still in my mouth.

Did not fool her one bit. "Noodles! What's in your mouth?" she said. My eyes told her "Nothing." So she grabbed at it. I know better than to snap at her or growl so I let her take the EXPOSED part thinking I could secret the rest away to eat in my BIG ROOM. She was having none of it. "DROP!" she said in that stern ALPHA voice. So I did. "Oh!" she said. "You have a persimmon. It must have somehow blown over from the Huangs next door."

 

Then she took all of the pieces I had carted in, washed the dirt off of them, and put them in my dish! I didn't even have to share with Molly.

Here is my new love

Wordless Wednesday and Blogpaws Blog Hop

Noodles: I wonder what THEY are looking at?

HOP!!!!

Gossamer, Glue and Gaffers

This was the weekend I was kind of dreading. It happens every year at about this time so you would think I would be used to it - SHOWCASE WEEKEND.

Showcase weekend is when my mommys spend Friday through Sunday at the theater building sets, rehearsing and performing for the ballet studio's yearly showcase. It is very tiring, from what I can see; and it requires them to be gone from early in the morning to late late late at night. Then they come home and fall straight into bed.

I snuggle very close to Mommy #2 then. VERY CLOSE. But she hardly notices as she is asleep almost as soon as the light goes out. I miss my Mommys very much on SHOWCASE WEEKEND.

This is some of the VOLUNTEERS who helped build sets this year. Mommy #2 (Mommy #1 was at school) said this year was GREAT because they had a lot of helpers and EVERYONE who came - came to WORK. There have been some years where it was just MOMMY #2, Auntie D the DIRECTOR of the ballet studio, and one or two volunteers. . . PERIOD! Those times made for very long SET BUILDING days and nights, to be sure.

Note the coffee in the foreground. This is one of THE MOST IMPORTANT tools they use on SHOWCASE WEEKEND! Mommy says she drinks more coffee that weekend than any other time of the year. I think she is exaggerating a little. . . on the other hand, those are BOTH her coffees and this was the FIRST DAY.

This is a view of some of the supplies they used for building the sets. It is really a lot of CARDBOARD, HOT GLUE, and LIGHTS but somehow they make magical settings that really tell the story of the show. Mommy also has a TOOL barrel with a hacksaw, screwdrivers, and lotsa of tape they call GAFFERS TAPE. It is the tape the light crew uses to tack down cords and things like that. It is like the DUCT TAPE of the light crew. But unlike DUCT TAPE, it is not quite so sticky and permanent. Guess what? Mommy also has white and gold duct tape in her barrel as well. You never know when you will need a touch of GOLD.

The components here are the TREES that will eventually fill the stage. . . actually UPSTAGE. DO you know what UPSTAGE means? It is the area to the BACK of the stage near the CYC (this is the cloth at the back wall of the stage which is illuminated or projected upon the create a background for the performance). 

Mommy and the rest of the set crew worked hard ALL DAY building 19 set pieces. The used some GOSSAMER to bring color to some pieces and wood or beans to give them stability. When they were completed, lights were added to them. 

Saturday was TECH and DRESS rehearsal. It was also the day the set was put into place and SPIKED (positions marked with colored GAFFERS TAPE). This is the LONGEST day of the WHOLE weekend. It starts early and goes until everything is ready for show day. TECH is the longest because each dance (there were 29 dances and an opening/closing dance) needs to have music and lighting cues coded into the system. That means the dancers are on stage posing for each dance ONE BY ONE. It takes a long time and sometimes things go wrong. After a quick dinner break, they do a DRESS REHEARSAL which is a run-through of the show beginning to end in order to time the show out AND make sure everyone knows what to do and when. It generally runs the length of the show which is 2 hours. Because TECH ran late, my Mommys did not get home until VERY LATE on Saturday.

Sunday was show day. There were THREE performances before pretty full houses.

This was the BEST picture Mommy could get of the sets onstage. She was really very busy all of the time so she just took a quick phone snap. The CYC is the light cloth on the right. The wrinkles were eventually straightened out so the cyc was a smooth surface. The black curtain on the left (looks like black space in this picture but is really a curtain) is called the TEASER. It reshapes the stage so it can look like a small room or a panorama. In the SHOWCASE this weekend, the GRAND CURTAIN (main curtain) broke and Mommy said they had to use the teaser to close off UPSTAGE to the audience while sets were moved on and off. All of the dances were started on a darkened stage with the Teaser open. It was challenging but they made the best of it. THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

The VERY LAST thing that Mommys #1 and #2 did was help STRIKE the SET. That is the OPPOSITE of building the set. They breaks down all of the sets, carefully roll and store lights and things that will be reused, and clean up the backstage area and dressing rooms. Because the theater does not belong to the studio, everyone's possessions need to be gathered and taken home. There are a lot of young children at the studio so there is always a LOT of lost and found stuff that needs to be gathered and taken to the studio for them to pick up.

Monday Mommys #1 and #2 stayed home from school and work to recuperate from all that activity. THAT was my favorite part of the whole weekend!

Sunshine Scores

We all know that Sunshine the Cat leads a charmed existence. She rarely does anything other than eat, sleep and poop. She MIGHT move from one pet bed to another - if she is so inclined. OR she will just stay in one spot all the day long. Yeah, she has a sense of entitlement like no other creature on earth.

And so it came time for the Chewy.com November newsletter - you know, the one with the list of treats to review? I live for that list - I dream about that list. I could just imagine all of the goodies that would be on that list. And I was not disappointed in the least. It contained so many MOUTHWATERING treat choices that I could hardly read the newsletter for all the tears in my eyes (from excitement) and drool flowing down my jowls.

Then, the unexpected happened. Mommy pulled me aside while giving me her "Now Noodles think about this. . ." look. That never bodes well for me. And she started right in with the good job on the diet. . . the VET was so happy I had lost. . . don't want to jeopardize. . . I think you know where she was going with this. In a NUTSHELL, she said no treats this MONTH. Zero - Zip - the big DONUT HOLE!!!! 

"But Mommy," I countered, Chewy.com is counting on us."

"I have thought about that Noodles," she said. "I think this would be a good time to give Sunshine the Cat a chance to review a treat. Look, they have some really great CAT options."

There was no arguing with her. She was not really giving me a choice at all. She was basically telling me Sunshine the Cat would be doing the review and for me to get used to ONE CARROT a day for a while.

I glanced over at Sunshine and she was attempting to be cool, all sitting there licking her paw over . . . and over. . . and over . . .

Then she hopped down from the shoji screen and sidled up to Mommy's leg. She started to rub all over that black pant leg like she was the most grateful cat in the world. Mommy totally bought it. She stopped just as suddenly, walked past me and gave me a smirk.

"It's about time this CAT got some attention," she meowed.

Happy Veterans Day

Thanks for the FREEDOM to be me

Blogpaws Blog Hop Here

Got a Mouse on My Mind

I know, I know. You hear this from me A LOT! Disneyland this. . . Mickey Mouse that. . . I KNOW!

I just can't help it - I am a M-O-U-S-Eaholic. And this time of year - as we are approaching Thanksgiving? Well I just can't help but ponder a visit to the Happiest Place on Earth. How I long to be sitting on the curb (which is cleaner than my kitchen), sipping hot cocoa, eating the tastiest gingerbread cookie in town, and watching A Christmas Fantasy Parade. Ahhhhhhh! That is living.

Do you think there is a Disneyland Addicts Anonymous? Someplace you can go and talk about your addiction and perhaps work through it?

Maybe there is a 10 step program for Disney addicts? Yeah, I know IT should be 12 steps but I thought that was too many. . . maybe I can shorten it to something I can handle better. . . like FIVE?

Let's see. . . it would go something like this:

1. I acknowledge that I am addicted to THE MOUSE. I must find strength to resist his smiling face and cheerful walk.He is a CARTOON CHARACTER.
2. I strive to NOT walk into that gate believing I am walking into the Happiest Place on Earth and that all my cares will melt away. It is just a THEME PARK.
3. I must make it my goal to save money for the future and not spend every dime I make on a 3 day trip to SoCal. IT IS OVERPRICED- gate price, food, accommodations, etc)
4. I need to search for other truths than "I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." WALT DISNEY WAS JUST A MAN.
5. I. . .  .I. . . . I GIVE UP!! Hello Disney Travel? Can you book my trip for Thanksgiving to the Happiest Place on Earth? Yes. . . I'll HOLD.

(voice over phone: "Your wait will be approximately 30 minutes. . .")

Share Please

I KNOW I ate my Dinner

I KNOW I've had a Treat

I KNOW I am not Hungry

But can't you SHARE your Torti

...lla (ya)?

Friday Tail Waggin'

I cannot believe it is Friday already. Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday it was a rainy Monday - a REALLY rainy Monday. And here we are. . . a cool crisp Friday. This weekend - and the rest of the year, really - will be so busy for my Mommys. 

First of all, we have friends from the U.K. visiting. It is always nice to see them ALTHOUGH they prefer Molly to me. Don't know what's up with that? 

Then it is costume day for Mommy #1 and Mommy #2 helps out. Mommy #1 dances in a showcase every year, She does ballet. It is so beautiful and graceful. So first comes rehearsals beginning in late August - then costume sort/pass out days - then sets building, dress/tech rehearsals, and 3 shows. 

Then comes a week of nothing much happening except for work and school. The weekend, though, the whole family (not dog and pug, though) will go down to SAN DIEGO to stay at the base on Coronado and enjoy the beach for 5 days. Then they go to Disneyland for 2 days before heading home and picking up Molly and Me (we stay with friends).

After that it is CHRISTMAS TIME in full swing. You all know how busy that gets!

So I am going to RELAX today. . . the last hectic Friday until January. Mommy's home for part of the day and THAT is where the tail waggin' comes in. That is, I'd wag my tail if I could. My whole butt wiggles when I try. But BUTT WAGGIN' just doesn't sound as fun, does it?

Mommy Warm Up Your Knitting Needles!

Oh DOG! It got chilly here all of a sudden! We went from steamy temps even at night to frosty morns. I never would have believed it if you told me A WEEK AGO I'd be looking for my WINTER sweaters so soon after packing up my swimsuit.

I think my Mommy better start knitting me some new sweaters because I think I'm gonna need them!

I Might As Well Face It, I'm ADDICTED To -

I took this off the Internet. In a NON-drought
year this is how our tree looks. 

APPLES! Yes!! I am utterly, completely, and MADLY in love with Apples. I spend my whole evening outside scrounging around for them. I don't care if they are wormy, shriveled, dried. . . I LOVE APPLES!

Whatever am I gonna DO?

This year our apples are bad (not so bad as to prevent me from chowing on them, though). After 4 years of little to no rain, they are small - apricot size - and grainy. And they are falling off the tree BEFORE they have ripened. Normally we have a couple of buckets full of juicy crisp apples.

I am salivating at the thought of all of those nice apples in the yard. . . perhaps if I look desperate to pee SHE will let me out AGAIN for the fourth time in 20 mins?

Can Someone Help me??? Call an intervention or something? In the meantime. . . excuse me while I NOSH a few . . .

on ANOTHER Apple run

Dear Blogger - Quit Hiding My Posts and Other Stuff

Does this hat make me look
ANGRY?

Dear Blogger
Quit hiding my Posts.My FURiends don't see my posts. I think they don't love me. So I don't want to POST. But I do.
And No One sees it in their Blog Roll.
WHY???

Hi FURiends,
I have heard (and noticed myself) that almost every other post is not showing up in the blog roll. I don't know why they are not there. I am posting like I always have - 5 days a week. . . usually before Noon (Pacific Time). So I do not know why you cannot see me in the roll. Please continue to look for me and comment on my posts. Maybe THAT will make Blogger stand up and take notice.

In OTHER NEWS. . . well there isn't a lot of NEW NEWS out there. We got rain. Over an inch of rain in SAN JOSE! That is almost unheard of even in non-drought years. Our yard was so happy it looked like it was dancing! It might have been the wind cuz it was windy. But to me it looked like the trees and plants were dancing with joy. Even this morning the yard looked so much happier. It's nice to put drought worries out of our minds for a minute or two. But that is all because we are still in a drought. I heard the news lady saying that it would take DOZENS of storms like that to get to normal. And normal does not mean out of the drought. Reservoirs are close to empty and need to be replenished.

More importantly, the snow pack needs to deepen. We had NONE last year and only INCHES the year before. This is really where our water comes from. The Sierra got a good amount of snow yesterday and will hopefully add to that this week. I like the snow. It is cold but it kinda tickles my feet.

And in BIGGER news, I got a new food yesterday. It was about time. The BEAR was almost empty and I think we were eating the same thing for 100 days or MORE. Give the taste buds something to look forward to, Mommy!!! Sheesh!

I'm rambling now. Again, thanks to everyPUGGY who entered a story the other day. It was fun and you all are SO CLEVER.

A Tale of a Tail TOLD is a Whopper of a Prize WON

I love my Pugnotes Sweater Vest soooooo much

Hello EveryPUGGY
I hope you all had a very nice Halloween. I sure did. I greeted over ONE HUNDRED children (mostly teenagers and even some adults) who came to our door TRICK or TREATing. My throat was a little tender all day yesterday so I TOOK IT EASY while Mommy did some work for her boss (on a SUNDAY????)

But I am UP and AT 'em now and ready to hit the WEEK running. It is raining today (YES!!! REALLY!!!) and I think that has a lot to do with my haste. I feel the need (coming on just as quickly as I did my BIDNESS in the rain) to snuggle back down into my blankies.

I want to THANK all of you who participated in TELLING ME A STORY. It really was fun to read all of them. And I promised prizes so. . .

Diane Snyder and her story about Lucy the pug/dachshund
AND
Anna the GSD and her story about Supermodel Anna and the FrankenVET
AND
Casey and his story about a CUTE boxer

Please contact me at NOODLESTHEPUG(at)AOL(dot)COM and give me your mailing address and a contact name so I can send you PRIZES. Do it soon because with the approaching holidays. . . well let's just say we don't want FIVE months to go by before a prize is sent out.


WHILE WE ARE AWAKE - let's all send out some good VIBES to Texas. After years of drought, the state is now experiencing deadly FLOODS! I am hoping the rain slows down soon so all of that good water can soak into Mother Earth and replenish the ground that was all dried up.