Garden Variety Thievery

Over the last several weeks we've been dealing with some thieves!  Just your average, garden variety thieves. 

The girls have been stealing snap peas straight off the trellis and aren't the least bit remorseful! 

Don't let those sweet faces fool you!  They're dirty, rotten, four pawed thieves.

"What?  My tongue didn't actually touch it!"

You might be wondering how on Earth did they decide they like snow peas?  

I'd point you in Matt's direction.  Years ago he was out in the garden and decide to throw a snow pea pod in Bella's direction... She's been salivating at them ever since! 

Obviously, Matt had to clue Haddie in on the wonder of the snow pea and now they're both hooked.  It's like crack to them!  They don't even wait for us to pick the pods off for them, it's a doggie buffet!

In addition to the snow peas, they also eat strawberries.  To be clear, they have to be ripe strawberries!  If they're not at their peak, they won't eat them.  Rotten.

Please confirm that our dogs aren't the most spoiled ones on the planet?

5 Tips for Running with your Dog

Hey folks, Haddie here!  For the last few months, Bella, Myla and I have been going out in the mornings and running to get our exercise.  Before I came to live with Matt and Myla, I didn't get to do anything like that!  Initially, I was a little anxious about the whole idea, but now I LOVE to go!  In the mornings, I stalk Myla to be sure she's not leaving without me...

One day last week, Bella and I got to talking and we came up with five tips that will help all pet owners who want to, but don't regularly run with their dogs! 

One: Run facing oncoming traffic with your dog on your left side.
We run down a country road that typically doesn't have a lot of cars, but it's important for you and us to run against traffic.  This way, you see the cars coming at us and are on the opposite side of the road if a car is coming from the other direction.  Myla is also really a stickler about Bella and I being on her left side.  I think she would throw herself in front of a car rather than risk us getting hurt!

Two: For our safety and yours, no earbuds or headphones.
When the three of us go running Myla never listens to music!  Ever.  This way she can hear if a car, or even a tractor, is coming up behind us long before we ever see it!

Three: Build our stamina.
Please, please don't take off with us and run for miles and miles if we aren't use to it.  Bella was use to running with Myla (she's been going since she was a puppy), but I had to start with shorter distances.  Now that we've been at it for a while, I can hang with the two of them and our long runs are about 4 miles.

Four: A good leash.
The leashes that Myla has for us are called British-style slip leads.  You can buy the exact ones we use here!  Bella's is 'Camo' and mine is 'Purple Confetti'... You're not surprised, right?  Anyway, these leads are good for taking your dog running because they provide a gentle reminder to keep up (if we think it's necessary to stop and sniff) or slow down (if we see a rabbit) while we are out and about.

Five: Make it fun!
Usually just being out with Myla is enough 'fun' for us, but there are special days when we run to the creek and GET TO SWIM!  Initially, I wasn't even sure if I could swim?  Myla was skeptical too because I heard her say to Matt "I untied my shoes in case she sank like a rock and I had to go in after her!"  I'm not the water dog that Bella is, but we both take full advantage of our time by crashing through the tall grass and tackling each other to jumping off the bank and into the water!

Are you and your human running partners?  Do they insist that you follow any specific rules?

Linking up with Amanda, Christina and Karli.  

15 Minutes of Fame

Since we adopted Haddie she has wiggled her nub into our hearts and onto our furniture.  Not that I had any doubts that she would be good fit!  Having grown up with 'herding dogs' I was quite familiar with many of their antics and while her "Frog Dog" pose isn't something new, I still crack up when she lays on the floor all stretched out.

One morning I was working on my computer and looked over to see her all sprawled out on the dining room floor and couldn't resist the photo opp.  Obviosuly, it ended up on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Duh.  Everything cute ends up on the internet!

Shortly after tweeting her picture, Milk Bone and I were conversing about how much both Bella and Haddie loved snacking on Milk Bone biscuits.

And after several private messages, these two lucky girls were getting official Milk Bone swag sent just for them!

Haddie is a big fan of the new Brushing Chews and Bella is all about the Original Biscuits...

Thanks again Milk Bone for sending the girls coupons for free biscuits and Haddie loves her new toy!

Christmas Card Outtakes

With every good Christmas card, there's is always some pretty entertaining outtakes!  And the probability of the 'bad' outweighing the 'good' increase tenfold when you add critters to the mix... 

I hope these give you a giggle on your Christmas Eve!

Sun in the eyes, sun in the eyes!  Haddie has spotted something way more entertaining than whatever we're doing here...  And Bella, obviously she just woke up from a nap!

Again with the sun!  Haddie seems to less than impressed with "Picture Time".  Bella, you're looking cute!

More frown lines and squinty eyes.  And something beyond the camera has B's attention... Squirrel.

 Hey Matt, STOP SQUINTING!!  Everyone else has pulled it together, why do you have to keep dragging us down?!

Merry Christmas Eve!  

You'll know tomorrow if you were on the Naughty or Nice List!

Happy Howlidays

'Tis the season for rushing to the mailbox to grab all the Christmas cards!  Like a knock down, drag out fight to the mailbox...

I started mailing Christmas cards as a part of my 30 by 30 list and haven't looked back!  I really look forward to sending our card out to friends and family, almost as much as I do getting cards.

Typically I spend a week or so stressing about what pictures to use, but this year I knew it was going to be best to wait since we just added Haddie to the family.  So while we were down for Thanksgiving, my photography-inclined sister-in-law snapped a bunch of pictures.  Then I tweaked them in PicMonkey and uploaded them to Shutterfly to create the masterpiece you see before you...

  

 Happy Howlidays!!

Proof of Life

No need to alert the media. 
All is well on the home front.
It'll be alright.

The last few days have been cray cray and I'm got so much to talk about, but today isn't gonna be the day for that sort of thing.  But trust me, I've got good things coming!

Until then, the pic below pretty much sums up what we've all been looking forward to since getting off the plane last week...

Happy Haddie

I was totally holding out on y'all last Friday when I didn't say anything about going to possibly adopt a new dog on Saturday!  For a few months now, Matt and I have been looking for the right dog to adopt.  I suppose we were being fairly picky, but with our lifestyle we knew what kind of dog was going to work and what wasn't. 

On the 'must' list was:

Female.  Bella hasn't been spayed, so a male (even a neutered male) was a no go.

Not a puppy.  We're over all the puppy-ness, which includes chewing, potty training, etc.
Housebroken.  When Bella was a pup I wasn't working and when I didn't keep her at home, Matt took her with him to work.  Potty training was easy.  With us both working FT and Matt not being able to take two dogs to work, the new addition will stay in the house during the day.
Comparable to Bella's size or smaller.  While I wanted at Bernese Mountain Dog, Matt was NOT on-board with a BIGGER dog than our 70 lb. Labrador.

That being said, we had decided that adopting an dog from a rescue site would probably be the best option for us.  As sad as it is, there are several fantastic rescues in Illinois that I was keeping a close eye on looking for a dog that would work in our family dynamic.  Over the course of the summer we put in a few applications, but the dogs were adopted (YEA!) before we had the chance to get up and visit them. 

But last week, I saw a sweet little lady that I had to meet!  Here are her specs: 1-2 years old.  30 lbs. Australian Shepard/Catahoula mix.  Housebroken.

So Saturday morning Matt, Bella and I loaded up and drove two hours North to visit the rescue.  I was trying to stay noncommittal until the point that we actually met Haddie, but knowing full well we'd be bringing her home as long as she and Bella go along!  And low and behold... they got along and she came home with us!

Haddie is still a bit timid, but she's warming up to us (and Bella) very quickly!  I'll definitely be reporting back about the progress we're making!

 

Insert Catchy Title Here

Hooray for Friday!

This week really flew by.  Well, up until this morning.  It seems to be really dragging!  I chalk that up to being up almost an hour earlier than I usually am, getting to work for a morning meeting and the fact that there's snow (yes, SNOW!) all over my outside Fall decorations.  I'm just not ready for this winter business!

ONE

The week started off on a great foot!  Bella and I headed down to the barn, she played with the Jolly Ball while I rode Louie.  With horse shows being over 'til next Spring I've slacked off a bit with my riding, but I have to get rides in when the weather is decent!  Last Winter we days when it was -40 degrees with the windchill and this girl doesn't ride in that sort of weather!

TWO

On Monday I started a new workout video series that is part of the Advocare product line-up.  I've really like the videos so far, but there's one guy in the DVD who's entirely too peppy at 5 o'clock in the morning in my opinion.  I may resort to muting the TV to get through that particular video!  Bella really enjoys our morning workouts too!

THREE

Last night Matt made supper and according to the recipe all the goodies were to go in a large 12" skillet, then into the oven to finish cooking.  We love our Pampered Chef cookware for this sort of thing because it goes from stove top to in the oven seamlessly.  Well long story short, I was doing some things around the house and Matt had taken the skillet out of the oven and set it on top of the stove.  I walked by and was irritated that he left the handle sticking out where someone might bump into it, so I grabbed the damn thing with my bear hand... forgetting it just came out of a 450 degree oven!!!  Insert expletives here.  I spent the rest of the evening icing the burn and this morning it isn't feeling too bad, but it's definitely tender!

FOUR

And to reward myself for the bravery exhibited above, I plan on treating myself to some Starbucks today!  I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to "Share Joy" or just drink the second one myself...

FIVE

Sunday afternoon is my monthly book club meeting.  Our book for November was called The Perfume Collector.  I requested the book from the library about 2 weeks ago and just got it Monday night, but thankfully it's quite good and I'm cruising through it!  Be watching for a review here soon!

Linking up with Karli, Amanda and Christina.

Fall La La La La'ing and a Birthday

When Lisa announced she and some pals were going to have a Holiday Link-Up, I knew I had to be on board!  I'm a compulsive over-decorator for all holidays, but no more so than Fall and Christmas!  You may have seen the pictures last month that reiterate just how much stuff I have for Halloween and Fall??  And I'll tell you that my Christmas decor has it's own closet...

Today's post is designed to show off our front porch, which has been all spiffed up for Fall, and to show off some of the hand-made 'touches' I've put together! 

Oh, and is a post complete without a pic of the prettiest Black Labrador on the planet??  You're right.  I don't think it is either!!! 

Whats more... Today is sweet, sweet Bella's BIRTHDAY!!  She is four years young and is still as playful as a pup!  She still tears around the house with her toys in her mouth and her tail tucked.  Gets into things she knows aren't hers.  And fills our home with so many laughs and lots and LOTS of love!

"I'm only laying here to get the biscuit in your other hand..."

Happy Happy Happy #blogtober14

There are many things in the this world that makes me as "Happy, Happy, Happy" as Duck Commander patriarch Phil Robertson...

Bella

 Sweet potatoes

 Vacations

Pinterest

Brownies and ice cream

 Matt

 Instagram

Adult beverages

 Louie

Playing Catchphrase

Costume parties

 Making lists

Dairy Queen

Hanging out with pals 

 Decorating for the holidays

Mexican food and margaritas

 

Linking up with Helene and Taylor.

Who Doesn't Love Instagram? #blogtober14

I mean seriously?!?!

It's become one of my favorite ways to document the fun things I'm doing, the memories we've made and look back on some pretty terrific throwbacks!  After scrolling through all. the. pictures. I found out that my first Instagram pictures was posted on June 4, 2011.  Somehow it doesn't seem possible that it's been that long, but alas...

Today's #blogtober14 writing prompt is to share our Favorite Photo Posted on Instagram.  Just like yesterday selecting just one picture proved to be a tough.  Like really, really tough.  There's countless pictures of Bella, Louie, yummy food, vacation memories and fun glimpses into my life!  And don't get me started on the videos!  Should you want to follow along, head over here...

Okay, back to the task at hand.  Here's the one picture I selected as my favorite:

A few summer's back I was lucky enough to snap this picture of Bella modeling a tutu I'd just made for one of my friends' daughters and I absolutely love it!  She is sitting like the perfect model.  And I swear there was no coercion going on, but I'm sure shortly after she got herself a biscuit for being such a good girl!

Shockingly, Matt doesn't think this picture of her is as fan-freaking-tastic as I do...

 

Linking up with Helene and Taylor.