Yay For Birthdays!!

My birthday was Thursday of this week ~ February 26th, but I've been taking advantage of my special day ever since.

It's been really awesome! My parents started it off with a heartfelt card and a beautiful flower arrangement the night before. On the actual day, my co-workers brought me a delicious German chocolate cake, strawberries, a chocolate shake at lunch, balloons & flowers. I also received a lot of cards in the mail & birthday money. I hope to get back into the gym & use my birthday money to get a personal trainer again. I LOVED having one before the wedding!!
That evening, Eric & I went out for a nice dinner and then shoe shopping. When we got home, I got to open a present ... perfume ~ Armani Code. Mmmm! It was a truly amazing day!! The following day, I continued the awesomeness by having lunch with two of my favorite people from a previous employer. Tonight I went for a celebratory dinner with my family & got even more pressies! My parents generously gave me money to continue Percy's training as he graduates from his current class on Tuesday. I'm excited to enroll him in the next! I also received an adorable English-style teapot night light. Thanks M&D!! Nicola & Kevin gave me a mic for karaoke & I'm absolutely thrilled. This mic has a story ... it was my sister's first karaoke mic & means the world to her. She got a new one for Christmas that does fancier things, but still couldn't bare to part with her old one. This problem was solved by passing it along to me. Great idea!! I can't wait for my first karaoke party! I need to get some serious practice time in though. I can't have anyone showin' me up in my own house! ;oD

Keep the festivities comin'! I just love birthdays!! Here are some pics from Saturday night ...

Birthday Girl & Hubby

The Gang's All Here!!

M&D

Nicola & Kevin

It's a bird ... it's a plane ...

Nope, it's a SOPHIE!!

This is one of the funniest things that Sophie does. She is so intrigued by the birds living in the bushes on the side of our house & will spend hours back there chasing them. Now that she has Percy to help, she sends him 'round the back to stir them up while she jumps as high as she can trying to nab one. Thankfully, she hasn't been quick enough to get one yet & I hope she never is!

Watch Out for Cocoa Mulch!

Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Target, Foreman's Garden Supply and other garden supply stores, contains a lethal ingredient called ' Theobromine'. It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Theobromine is in all chocolate, especially dark or baker's chocolate which is toxic to dogs. Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of th eobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.

Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation on the company's website, this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs and cats.

Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey's, and they claim that 'It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won't eat it.'

Read up on it on Snopes:

www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp

Thanks for passing this on Ceci!!

It's Training Time!

Our little Percy started school yesterday. We're going to Hearts & Paws, which is right down the road from our house. (http://www.heartsandpaws.com/) We had started a class there with Sophie, but she was so fearful, she spent most of the class either halfway under my chair or just frozen with worry. We weren't getting very far, so we dropped out & opted for more socializing before starting up again. Now she is a dog park regular & has been getting the courage to go up to total strangers for a sniff. If they are extra intriguing, they'll even get a little lick as well! She gets very excited about car rides, walks & going to visit her "grandparents" & Wallace. She really has come SO far. It's been an amazing journey!

Percy's class went fairly well. He knew most of the basics we went over last night like "sit" & name recognition. However, we're pairing everything with hand signals now & that's new for him so I know he wasn't bored. ;o)

He has had two growling instances in the past & last night made our third. When we got there he was a wild man on his leash so they offered us a Gentle Leader Easy Walker Harness. It's like a regular harness, except that the leash clips in the front. If the dog pulls, he is redirected & almost turned around because of the position of the leash on the harness. While he was getting fitted for it, he growled at one of the instructors. She backed off & came back with lots of treats, distracting him while she did her thing, & he was fine. His growling concerns me & I definitely want to nip that behavior ASAP!! The instructor said that it didn't worry her & that we'd continue to work on it. She said it's obvious that he wants to please & is easily treat driven - both being really promising. Yay! Good news!!

We go once a week on Tuesday nights & we get homework, too! I'll try to keep my posts up to date with his progress. With a little bit of luck, he'll get all the moves down, then come home & teach Sophie!

Meet Percy!!

What a handsome boy!!

There are a few pictures of Percy in the photo album below & I bet some of you are asking, "Who is this new Percy character?" Well, he's the latest addition to our family of BBDs (Big Black Dogs) & he is most definitely a character!

Percy came over to our house with his foster dad on Thursday, December 11th & never left. :o) He's a Rottie mix & almost a year & a half old. His puppy-like antics keep Eric & I on our toes & laughing all the time! He & Sophie became friends almost instantly. Having another dog around the house is really helping Sophie emerge from her shell. She is learning from Percy that life isn't so scary and her confidence level has risen tremendously in the few weeks he's been in our home. It's amazing!!

Eric & I would like to give a little shout out to Austin Dog Rescue for allowing us to take Percy into our home. It's been an adventure and a blessing!

Here is their site for anyone looking to adopt: http://austindog.org/

For anyone who doesn't already know, Wallace, my parent's BBD (also pictured/mentioned on here often) came from Austin Dog Rescue. Both Percy and Wallace are living proof that perfectly wonderful dogs are waiting to be adopted from rescue organizations. It makes me sick to think that people are of the opinion that adopting a dog from a shelter or rescue organization is "willingly accepting someone else's problem". These dogs are not problem dogs!! Most of them were just dealt a bum deal through no fault of their own. Huh-hmmm, I'll step down off my soap box now, but seriously ... take a look at shelters and rescues before you run off to the nearest "breeder" for your next dog, okay? That's all I'm gonna say 'bout that....

And welcome to our home, Percy!! We love you and can't wait to see what the years have in store!

Here are some pictures of Sophie & Percy rompin' & stompin' the first week he was here:

Yes, that is "shy" little Sophie playing keep away with her new best friend.

Percy is always up for a good ol' game of tug-o-war!

And when they're all tuckered out, they like to curl up together in one of the two crates & take a nap. It's a match made in heaven!!

Look what my mom put together!

See ... we're all a lil' dog crazy 'round here!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Baby, It's Cold Outside

With all this talk of dogs, you may think we've forgotten about our first furry children. We have not.

As soon as the weather starts getting colder, all of the cats start getting a lot more clingy. They want to be on a lap or riding around on a shoulder at all times. The best part is at night ... who needs a heater when you have 3 furry cats and a husband in your bed?? I'm telling you, our electricity bill just keeps getting lower & lower! Woohooo!!

And when Eric & I aren't around to snuggle with, Bela & Lucy snuggle with each other ...

leaving Mr. Puss to snuggle with whatever he can find. On this day it was the giant Christmas frog on the living room chair: Poor Mr. Puss ...