Merry Christmas! Season's Greetings!

A huge Merry Christmas to everyone! Thank you so much for brightening my year with your views and comments. You mean the world to me, and I look forward to blogging to you next year and beyond. I have lots planned for the future - style advice, new jewellery pieces, Arwednesdays, how-to's, treasuries, features and much more. Please keep coming back and please give me your feedback so I know what you want to see.

Wishing you the best of the season, see you in a few days,

and Arwen the Wonder Dog

The Many Moods of Arwen

 Today we will explore the many moods of Arwen the Wonder Dog. She is my ever-changing, ever-shedding, ever-barking, wonderful, loving dog. My buddy, my bestest furry friend. Above, she is sleepy. She does sleepy well. Her head sloooowly starts to droop, her eyes close, then open, then close slowly, then open slowly, until they just seem too heavy to open and then finally stay closed, though the exhausted sigh is optional.

 Here she is watchful, guarding her dino. An old photo to be sure, she has managed to tear all the stuffing out of it and it is now in the middle of her toy box, half inside out. She likes her toys this way. We recently bought her a "stuffed" wolf toy, that had no stuffing to begin with. She carries it everywhere. She loves to play "keep-away" with her toys, wagging her tail furiously while trying to walk surreptitiously away from us, like we won't notice a 53 pound dog with a 2 foot long floppy wolf in her mouth, wagging her tail (and sometimes her butt, when she is really trying to blend into the background), and walking around any corner and stopping to see if we follower her. If we do, she play growls or talks around whatever is in her mouth, giving a pretty hilarious sound from a pretty hilarious dog.

Her cute "Please feed me whatever it is you're eating 'cause it looks really, really tasty" pose, tongue licking optional. Carrots, cheese and yogurt are her favorites, though not necessarily in that order. She also loves her natural treats. And chicken. And oatmeal. And potatoes. You get the picture. The funny thing is, we don't really feed her "human food" at all, just the occasional, "Oops, it fell on the floor....Arwen have!" sort of thing. Except for carrots. But she still tries. And with a face like this, who can really deny her? She looks so cute and fuzzy. Only the thought of doggy dental work or weight reduction diets keep us from giving in. It's hard though :)

 Here is her cute, watchful, "Give me that squeaky toy" look. She wants to play! She is quite good at playing, particularly the "death shake" where she shakes the heck out of whatever is in her mouth. Usually reserved for very hyper playtime, and usually accompanied by bouncing up the hallway and back again, barking optional. Her bounce is hilarious. She doesn't really run, unless she's trying to chase something far away. She bounces. Think Tigger, but in a black and white, lab/border collie/husky mix dog.

Sitting pretty. My wonderful, cute, loving, friendly, happy dog. She really is always happy (except during thunderstorms, but that is ok). Even when she's not doing something like eating or sleeping or chasing toys, she is just happy to hang out and be one of the humans (don't tell her she's not, she won't believe you), with a special barking ability.

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Can you tell I love my dog? I think she knows it too ;-)

Until next time,

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American friends! Keep in mind that there are many vegetarian and vegan options for your Thanksgiving feast, and that there are even organisations that have turkeys to adopt, just in case you want to save a turkey instead of eat them! Here is a link to Adopt-a-Turkey Project's Website: http://www.adoptaturkey.org/

(photo from Natinal Geographic here: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/wild-turkey/)
Have a great day!

Bulls of Catalonia, Rejoice!

(Image from http://www.freeclipartnow.com/animals/cows/cow-2.jpg.html)

That's right all you big, hunky, masculine bulls, Catalonia, Spain has just banned bullfighting! Now, some see this as a purely political gesture to try to distance themselves from Spain (they want to be an independent state), but I, and many other animal-lovers, see this as a victory against blatant animal cruelty. No more killing of bulls disguised as "sport" - how sweet it is.
Here's one news article about it: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0728/Catalonia-votes-for-less-death-in-the-afternoon-with-bullfighting-ban
Let's have a big, happy MOO for that!

Sweet Saturday: Happy Birthday Ray!

Today is my little brother's birthday! Okay, so "little" isn't a very good term: he's 22 and waayyyy taller than I am. Still, he is younger, and though I can't seem to find any embarrassing photos of him as a baby right now, I'm sure I will eventually. For now, here is a fairly recent photo of my handsome brother.

Happy birthday bro, love you.

Merry Christmas: A Bit of A Break...

Arwen and I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season, whether it is Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or others.

I've been having some health issues, and combined with the Christmas rush, it has made me rather negligent with my blogs. Arwen and I are going to take a little break and when we come back, we'll have many new posts and (hopefully) interesting stories for you.

So be happy, stay safe and healthy, and we'll see you very soon!
and Arwen

Happy Father's Day!

I love my dad. He's my step dad, technically, but to me, his is my dad. See, my biological father abandoned my mom when she was pregnant, denied I was his offspring, made her go through all sorts of embarrassing paternity tests and court hearings (which did, incidentally, prove I was his biological child), tried to refuse to pay child support, actually DID stop paying child support, was totally absent and a general jerk for all intensive purposes. My mom and I lived on our own until I was 8 and then there was a miracle...
My mom met my dad, and although he never formally adopted me, he was the first man to call me his daughter. He was the first man I called "Dad". He taught me how to use a lawnmower, drove me to horseback riding lessons, supported the family when my mom lost her job and then became disabled and couldn't work outside the home. He showed up at my hockey games when I played and yelled and cheered me on. He is usually incredibly quiet, but when he speaks, he has the greatest sense of humor, and wit.
We never had a ton of money, but there was always a warm, comfy house, a little smile and good food. We didn't need to take expensive vacations, because almost every Sunday during the summer there was 'The Track", or, Luskville Dragway as it is officially called. My dad has the coolest damn race car ever. It's a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu that he has turned into one hell of a racing monster. Starting it up invariably shook the house, woke the neighbors, knocked every squirrel off every tree on the block, and made us all smile with pride and excitement. Yup. That's my dad.
My 'real' father for all to see.
Love you daddoo, happy Father's Day :)

Soulful Sunday: Happy Mother's Day!

Yes, I know, it looks a little odd. When everyone else is showing roses and countryside worthy of Da Vinci paintings for their Mother's Day posts, I show two little dandelions. Well, there's a story, and since you're still sitting here I'll tell you:
As a kid, my mom and I didn't have much money, and before my step dad finally came around (like, where had he been? lol), I didn't have anyone to take me places to 'get mom a present'. So I made her presents, painted her pictures and, of course, brought her dandelions. Lots of them! I made bouquets and they would be all over the apartment, and later, the house. When I got older I tried making chains and headbands out of them, but one eensy weensy bug in my hair quickly put an end to that! So a dandelion bouquet it would be, it is, and it forever shall be.
So here's to my mom, who did a pretty darn fine job (if I do say so myself!). Who taught me to ride a bike, swim, be kind to others, love to help people, and most importantly, love learning. I may not be perfect, but I would be nowhere near the person I am without your love, support, guidance and unconditional cheering-on.
I love you, you are wonderful, and I couldn't have chosen a better mom if I had tried.
I hope you love your dandelions :)

Wordless Wednesday - HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Happy New Year!

I wish you a year full of happiness and gluten free goodies! Please jkeep checking back as I'll have more great updates for you.
Health and happiness to you!
Meghann