Wednesday, January 31, 2018

The Lunatic in Me


Aunt T woke Mommy and me up very very early this morning so we could see the BLUE BLOOD MOON ECLIPSE. It is a very rare and very awesome phenomenon. I was so sleepy that at first I could not tell what was going on. But Mommy, Aunt T and Aunt B were all GUSHY so I ventured to look. I was hesitant after my last ECLIPSE adventure. You know, the one where I glanced at the SUN and promptly got shoo-d inside? Anyhow, apparently it is OK to look at the moon when it is in total eclipse. So I did. What an amazing sight it was. It looked like an ORANGE in the sky! It was really really large, as well. Mommy and I sat by the BIG BAY window a long time just watching it. Then it did something pretty amazing. . .

As it came out of the BLOOD RED stage, it developed a pinpoint of light on the right side. Then as it got bigger, for a minute it looked like a DIAMOND RING. Mommy saw this with the Solar Eclipse last year but had never seen it with a Lunar Eclipse. Unfortunately, she could not get a photo of it. This is how it came out. . . and believe me, it looked nothing like this.


We continued to watch the eclipse as it retreated and as the moon set. As it did, the moon again got larger and larger and again turned a bright orange. It was different from the Blood Red Moon at the peak of the eclipse. It was more of a typical setting moon orange - and it was still only a quarter moon. . . between a crescent and a quarter . . .

This is a photo spread from the San Francisco Chronicle showing the phases which were fully visible throughout the Bay Area


Cool, huh?

I really love watching the moon. That is why Mommy calls me a LUNA-TIC . . . because the MOON is also known as LUNA.


Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Rice Cakes for Dinner?



The other day Mommy was making herself some dinner. I had just finished enjoying my own dinner. It took all of 30 seconds to finish the food and clean the bowl - THAT is how much I enjoyed it. So, being the curious PUG that I am, I wandered into the kitchen to supervise. That and in hopes of a dropped morsal, like when Aunt T makes dinner.

So she spooned out a little soup, poured a nice glass of water, and then grabbed something I had never seen before - RICE CAKES. I had HEARD of them, of course, but never eaten them to my recollection.

Have you ever seen these?



They LOOK like something edible. Sorta. But they really have no smell (no GOOD smell) and so I was pretty unsure of what they were about. But Mommy said they were indeed food and were just a nice crunch when eaten as an accompaniment to the soup. So I did what any self-respecting PUG would do. I BEGGED to try some. And I begged. And I begged. And so on.

So Mommy broke off a little piece and gave it to me. Well. . .

You know how a fuzzy BLANKET tastes when you lick it for like 20 minutes? Or that fuzzy yarn piece on the floor that you ate because you were sure it was PURPLE spaghetti? Well - BOTH of those were more flavorful than that rice cake.

Why Mommy? Why?

If that's what she wants for dinner then I guess more power to her. As for me, NO THANK YOU. Gimme a plastic dish to lick. It'd be more flavorful.

Monday, January 29, 2018

If The Cat Fits . . .



What is it about CATS that make them love small places? I like cozy and formfitting, but this. . .. this is just silly. Sunshine the Cat will try and fit into the smallest boxes (this one, for example, is not even the size of printer paper (8.5 X 11)! There is no way I could fit even one paw into that box. Somehow Sunshine managed to SIT in the box and actually stayed in it for a long time.

WHY?


Sunshine: Well, my dear dear Noodles. Because I CAN. It is what I excel at. It is what I do. Kind of like opening cabinet doors and tiptoeing through the pots and pans. I do it because I CAN. You, however, are not fleet nor light of foot so there is NO WAY you can do similar feats. You are simply jealous.



AS IF! I mean. . . can you do this, Sunshine? Yes, yes, yes - okay. Why WOULD you? I am not sure why I did.

Friday, January 26, 2018

When No Means . . . Well, Okay


Noodles: Mommy. . . I want to sit on your lap!
Mommy: No, Noodles. I am crocheting and I don't want you on my lap.
Noodles: Well, I guess I will just rest my chin right here then.


Noodles: Mommy? Is it okay if I rest my paw on your leg?
Mommy: I guess so. But you are NOT getting on my lap. I told you NO already.


Noodles: Mommy . . . I . . . ummm . . . can I just wiggle over to here for a sec?
Mommy: Noodles, I said No. That means No you cannot get on my lap.


Noodles: (settling on Mommy's lap, and coincidentally her crocheting) Oh, uh! Did you SAY something, Mommy?
Mommy: Sigh. . . .

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Thoughtful on a Thursday



It's cold and rainy outside, so it has me thinking. . .

Well, ummmmm, I think. . .

So I was pondering. . .

Pugness! I have nothing!

Be kind.
Be Happy.


Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Twenty-Three Days and Counting Down. . . A Kind of Wordless Wednesday






If a PICTURE is worth a THOUSAND words. . . How many MORE words is a VIDEO worth?


Excited for the games to begin. . .

Yeah. I know running is a Summer sport





Tuesday, January 23, 2018

A Rare Tongue Out Tuesday


Molly often has her tongue out. Not quite like this, but peeking out. She can't help it. She doesn't have many front teeth left. It is common in Maltese and no amount of conscientious tooth-brushing by Aunt B can change that fact. So her tongue PEEKS out.

Mine is more of a mystery. Yes, I lick from time to time as all dogs do. So one will get glimpses of my gloriously adorably pink tongue. But I don't often sit with my tongue out. And I really don't let myself be photographed with my tongue out.

But the other evening, I was relaxing on the chair with Mommy #2 watching tv. And I was going what any self-respecting Pug Princess would do - I was licking to RELAX. I was all in, I tell ya. I had my eyes closed and was totally diggin' the vibe, if you know what I mean. Well - somePUGGY snapped a PUParazzi style VIDEO of it and posted it on SOCIAL MEDIA. (Editor's note: Slight exaggeration. It was sent to Auntie B in a text).

I feel a little VIOLATED but I won't apologize for my behavior. After all - I have a really CUTE tongue.


Thursday, January 18, 2018

Playing Games #Chewyinfluencer

It's one of those days - rain is coming and
napping seems the best course to take


Happy Thursday EveryPuggy! Thanks for all the lovely comments on my photo yesterday. However, no one commented on my SMILE! I was so happy in that picture because I was sitting between my TWO MOMMYS! Yes. Mommy #1 was home from university for Aunt T's birthday lunch. So I got to spend time with both Mommy #1 and Mommy #2 AT THE SAME TIME. What a treat. I could not contain my glee and so that is why I was smiling.

My cheeks hurt from all of the smiling.

On to the TOPIC OF THE DAY - my LATEST Chewy.com adventure. And I do mean adVENTURE because this has been one for the funny papers. It all started with an email from Chewy.com asking if I would be interested in reviewing a special item this month. The item in question is one of those slow feeder bowl thingies that slow FAST eaters (Me) down while entertaining their minds. I was all "No! No! No! I like to scarf down eatables!" I reminded Mommy that I had done those bowls in the past and they just do not work for SHORT SNOUTED puggirls. She agreed with me and then GUESS WHAT? She said YES!

Yes! I could not believe my velvety ears. Why in Pugnation would she say yes to something she KNOWS is doomed to fail. Well, she explained. . . two reasons

  1. Who can say NO to Ms Natalie of Chewy.com
  2. Who better to test a feeder bowl than the one expected to fail? It will be a true test (unlike the Gen7Pets Carry Me Sleeper which I knew I'd love)!
The bowl Ms. Natalie was talking about is the Outward Hound Fun Feeder. It comes in two sizes (Small for small breed dogs and Large for the bigger breeds) and three colors. Each color has a different design which indicates the level of difficulty for the dog to remove the food. The one I chose (do we ever really choose???) is the PURPLE one and it has the lowest degree of difficulty. It has a pretty FLOWER pattern. You will see it below. The other two are TEAL which is medium difficulty and ORANGE which is the toughest to navigate. The depths of the grooves are about 1 inch.

Medium Difficult

Most Difficult  


So we said yes and in a short amount of time it arrived at our door. I was so excited to see the Chewy.com box that I acted like my usual Banshee (Ever hear a pug scream? Very Banshee-like). Until Mommy pulled out the. . . BOWL?



Never one to give up, Mommy and I discussed the bowl and possibilities (giving it to Molly who was cool to the idea after a couple of treats; keep it for Sunshine who was like Molly; or give it to our FURiend Tiny who already eats too slowly) until we finally decided to keep trying to LIKE it.

So Mommy came up with another PLAN -



Well that was a BUST, I daresay. I was pretty mad that THEY could get treats and I couldn't. So Mommy kinda overcompensated by putting an equal number of treats (they each managed to get 2 before Mommy picked up the bowl) on the floor near my PRONE but wiggly pug body (yes, I was having a tantrum).

But Cousin E had an idea. The next day she put treats in the bowl and sat with me, plying me with treats, and showed me HOW TO LIFT a treat out of the bowl. And if I did, I was given ANOTHER TREAT!. And you know what? I eventually was able to get some treats out of the bowl!!!!


VICTORY!!!

So NOW I am successfully able to get large treats out of the dish. Like almost peaking over the edge large pieces. Anything smaller is out of my ability to get. Not having a snout is a real issue with this BOWL. And I have a petite tongue as well. Perhaps short shouts but long tongues would work. But I am just speculating. It is kind of case by case.

That said, the quality of the bowl is amazing. It is solid and heavy - none of that cheap Dollar Tree type plastic bowls (Don't get me wrong - those cheap plastic bowls have saved me more than once so they have their uses. . . but not day to day). And the bowl has enough weight that it does not shift around the floor constantly thus preventing me EVEN FURTHER!

So we give the Outward Hound Fun Feeder 7 out of 12 PAWS up for us. It just is too hard for a PUG PRINCESS to have to work so much for a treat. And the interest level of the other two was minimal.

**Thank you Chewy.com for providing us with the Outward Hound Fun Feeder free of charge so we could try it out and review it. All opinions in this blog are mine along and I do not get paid for any of it.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Bones, Bones, Bones - #Chewyinfluencer



HI. Sunshine the Cat here. I will be 15 years old this May and I am telling you - sometimes my bones stiffen up. It is the price one pays for being elegantly elderly. It isn't too bad I can still jump up on the shoji screen where my bowl is located. Most of the time, that is. Some days it just isn't happening.

That is why when the January Newsletter from Chewy.com came around, I asked if I could indulge in a little KITTY care. I chose something for my BONES - Glucosamine. The selection for January was for NaturVet Glucosamine DS Plus MSM & Chondroitin Chews, that are suitable for dogs and cats.


I think the main selling point of this particular glucosamine is the fact it is chewable. Who wants to take chalky pills? And taking drops? No way - I will shred whoever tries to feed me liquid vitamins. So being a soft chew just makes sense. The flavor is pleasant and when broken into smaller bites, quite kitty appropriate.

Glucosamine is an amino sugar found in bones and is believed to help alleviate pain from osteo-arthritis. The NaturVet Glucosamine also contains Chondroitan which is a longwinded way of saying carbohydrate found in the cartilage, and MSM which is MĂ©thylsulfonylmĂ©thane and it helps with flexibility. This is all doctory verbage which means it takes away the ache of aging.

I have to say I am quite pleased with them. I feel pretty good and have been happy to hop up on the counter for food or treats. Or to play on my new Boogie Mat (Chewy.com also sells them) which resides on the top floor of my condo.

Not reviewing - just bragging
The only downside is an on-going one in this house - human error. I am constantly reminding my human servants to dose me up on NaturVet Glucosamine. It should be automatic, I should think. It is their job, after all. But that is not a negative re the product. Just a general gripe.

Thank you Chewy.com for providing me with this elixir of youth (free of charge, I might add) and allowing me to share my opinions of the product. No one pays me for this - it is a favor I do the world.

Monday, January 15, 2018

Living His Dream - from a PUG'S Perspective


Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day

I have a holiday - do you? Everypuggy is home and it is like a weekend BUT IT IS MONDAY. So confusing. But I am excited and especially since the special day is honoring a special person.

We can all learn from Dr. King's legacy. He fought for freedom. He preached peace. He LIVED love. And that is something we can ALL do from human to canine, feline to velociraptor. 

We can ALL do this.
We can all learn to LOVE
We can all preach PEACE 
and 
We can all FIGHT for FREEDOM

We must always be vigilant of threats to our civil rights and always protect them. There will always be a threat to some if not all of them.

I plan to LIVE the words of Dr. King. AND if this little pug can do it. . . so can you.

Words to Live by from Martin Luther King, Jr.



  • “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”



  • “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” 



  • “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”



  • “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” 



Thursday, January 11, 2018

Confessions of a Foodcentric Pug. . . In Other Words. . . Confessions of a PUG


I am totally into food
Or anything that looks like food
Or anything that smells like food
Or anything that might be food
Or anything that may be food
It consumes my every thought
It patterns my every day
It even dominates my behavior
I am a Foodcentric Being

You all know me as Noodles
Noodles the Pug
Noodles the Pug Princess
A Bowl of Noodles
Even my name screams food
Saying my name is an homage to food
I am a Foodcentric Being

I'll wake up for Food
I'll come running for Food
I live for Food
I snuffle in the corners for Food
I search under the table for Food
I stand by the stove for Food
I search the garden for Food
I search the couch for Food (you NEVER know)
I listen for bags, jars and cans opening . . .
I am a Foodcentric Being

They named me Noodles
Noodles is a FOOD
Noodles make me hungry
A Bowl of Noodles
I scream for food
My Name Is FOOD
I am a Foodcentric Being


Monday, January 8, 2018

Good Intentions FOILED

WHATTHA Mom!!! This is NOT an authorized photo!

I had good intentions and my instructions were clear. I RESOLVED to BLOG 5 days a week without fail. Well that did not last a week into RESOLUTIONS! Geez. What's a PUG to do? It all started early Friday morning when Mommy #1 went to her desk. Usually she works on my BLOG first thing. But not today. She muttered something about LATER and then never turned the computer ON. That is so weird. Mommy ALWAYS turns the computer on.

Then she left to do some errands for work. This was me. . .


She was gone a long long time. And when she returned, she had to pick up Cousin C and prep dinner. Then she was off to her OTHER job.

And so I waited. . . and waited . . . and waited.

My blog post never got done.

Let's try this again or it MAY be time to get a NEW assistant.

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Shakin' In The New Year

Isn't this a great CHIN REST? Princess Leah send it to me.
I love it
Well here it is - THE FOURTH day of the new year and we have had a lot going on. Aside from everyone going back to work or school, we had a NOT-so-rare EARTHQUAKE this morning. It happened at 2:46 am. My Mommys both felt it (one is upstairs and one is downstairs) which for Mommy #2 is rare. She seldom notices any QUAKES below a 5.0 on the Richter Scale. In some circles, that is considered rather large. For her who grew up here in the Bay Area, it is almost unnoticeable.

I slept right THROUGH the whole thing and only found out about it when Mommy had the news on. It was all over the air waves as if it were something unusual.

Newsflash: We live in Earthquake Country!

I imagine had I felt it I would have barked. A little bark. Nothing too major. It is just that booms and shakes can startle me and my first reaction is to bark. A little. I am pretty sure that the reason I neither felt nor heard the quake (other than being sound asleep) is the THUNDER and LIGHTNING that happened earlier in the evening. Now THAT is something I consider rare here in NORCAL. Not that we never have them. But we seldom do. Maybe once or twice a year and usually not long lasting. So any WHO, back to my story. I was already worn down by those booms - and hoarse from barking a lot at them - that I just tuned out to BOOMING.

Quakes boom a little.

Anyhow, that is my New Year report for today - a whole lotta (not really) shakin' goin' on.

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Day Three of 2018 Brings Changes

Cousin E drew this with no Noodles to model.
I am very impressed

Happy Day Three of 2018. I can hardly believe it. It seems so soon. First we had Thanksgiving which kind of took FOREVER to get here . . . and then I blinked and it is now 2018. Where did December go? It's all a blur today.

Today was different that the previous 14. Today, for the first time of 2018 EVERY HUMAN, except my Mommys, went back to work!!! And school!!! That means it is just me and my Mommys (and Molly, and Sunshine the Cat, and Jade the Bird). It's so Q-U-I-E-T. That could be due to the lack of HEATING, though. Our heater broke on New Years Eve (thanks 2017) and won't be fixed until the END of this week! So it is not grumbling and then blowing. Sometimes it is so loud I cannot hear the TV! So. . . that's different.

I have a lot of plans for the NEW YEAR. I just hope I can put them in action. I am currently putting ONE in action


Yes, yes. I plan to catch a few EXTRA naps to make up for Mommy's lack of napping. She is always doing something or going somewhere and I admit. I try to keep up with her. But NOT this year. I plan to NAP first and adventure LATER. At least until it warms up and the strawberries begin to ripen. Then I plan to NAP second and Adventure FIRST.

I also plan to be better about blogging. I admit to LAGGING some this past year. On days Mommy had to go meet her boss - I didn't blog. On days Mommy was very busy cleaning or cooking, I didn't blog. This year I am going to PLAN the week ahead and make sure I post 5 days a week. . . like I used to BEFORE Mommy worked from home.

I plan to HIKE more this year. Mommy #2 as well. There are plenty of dog friendly trails in our part of the VALLEY so I plan to explore them. I have a limit to how much I can walk and so does Mommy #2 (old knee, ankle and foot injuries) so we are pretty compatible there/

I plan to WIDEN my food horizons as well. I know, I know. "Noodles," you are saying, "You are already very adventurous in your eating! You eat VEGETABLES!" And you are right there, my friend. But I plan to move out from my CHICKEN dominant diet and onto other MEATS. Why not? They might suit me.

Finally, I plan to make more FURiends and NURTURE the FURiendships I have. I'll comment more and be a bit more active in BLOGVILLE - like I used to be. It just takes a bit more organization.


So there you have it. My 2018 plan of action.
Wish me luck.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

HAPPY YAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! What Will 2018 Be Like?

Washing away 2017


Hi Furiends
I guess I have been sort of MISSING IN ACTION for the past 2 weeks, huh? Believe me. . . IT was not on purpose. I kept telling MY ASSISTANT (Mommy) to sit down for just a MINUTE and help me with my blog. But she was so busy busy cleaning, working, prepping, entertaining, shopping.

That said, she DID take time to see "The Last Jedi" which is time she COULD have devoted to my blog.


But you know, Christmas is so fun because of all of the decorating, cooking, presents and entertaining. So I kinda forgive her.

Christmas Eve was so so so SO much fun. My bestest FURiends (except for Princess Leah because she lives so very far away) came over for DINNER and we had a lot of fun.

There were 5 of us:

Me in my Mommy #2's arms
Tiffy in her Mommy's arms
Fezzik in his Christmas jammies -all tuckered out











Molly (file foto because she would NOT pose)











Lulu (file foto because she would NOT pose)












We had a lot of FUN and a lot of TREATS. No wonder we were all snoozing most of the evening.

Christmas day was so great. I got MORE treats and MORE toys (so did Molly)!!! It was amazing. Later in the evening Auntie D came over with MORE PRESSIES. And we ate MORE food.

I love Christmas.

The rest of the week I did some things here and there. Here is a photo chronology is my last 7 days of 2017:

Isn't Princess Leah the BEST?




Mommy #1 got this for Christmas and thought it funny. I call
it PROFILING!


So here we are. . . up to date and now in the SECOND DAY of Two Thousand Eighteen. I am looking forward to the days ahead.